Ebony
by Hunnypooh
Summary: Ebony the is most famous young Rock star of this generation in the world. But behind that fame and fortune, she has a dangerous past that she barely knows about. Maybe the Order can enlightened her. No Xover. HPOC. R&R.
1. Prologue

AN: Don't worry. I haven't quit writing my other story. But I had this one in my head for a few weeks and I wanted to write this down before I lost it.

**IMPORTANT AN PLEASE READ**: The name Ebony Riddle (not the middle name) comes from JuMiku, so for those who have heard of her (or him) and have read the story **DO NOT** flame me.

The story is called "Ebony Riddle and the truth of the boy-who-died" which is now being written by Shadow Crystal Mage.

Dislcaimer: No Crossover. Just Harry. Don't him so stop rubbing it in.

"Blah": Talk

'Blah': Thought

Onto the story.

**Ebony**

**Prologue**

**Flashback (15 years ago)**

"Severus! Severus! Are you in?!" Severus, please! I need your help!"

That night, there was a woman knocking frantically on the door of a cottage. The woman would have been a beautiful sight to see with her seemingly flawless skin, lavender eyes, and raven hair, if it wasn't for the fact that she was in full panic and looking over her shoulder every other second. She held in her arms a small bundle wrapped loosely in a blue blanket.

The woman knocked and yelled for another thirty seconds before the door opened a creak and there appeared the man she was asking for. Severus' eyed the young woman before her eyes widened a centimeter at who it was at the door.

"Izayoi? Is that you?"

The woman, Izayoi, smiled with tears in her eyes to see his face. She held her bundle closer to her chest as she in a choked voice, "Hello again Severus."

Severus opened the door fully and looked around the area. "What are you doing?"

"You've read the Prophet lately, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you know of the verdict?"

Severus sighed, "Yes, I do."

"Then you must know why I'm here. I need your help! They are going to kill _her_! You're the only one I know that would help me with this!"

"Shhh. Someone might hear. Come in! Hurry!" He whispered loudly.

She walked in quickly and Severus slammed the door and double locked it.

They walked into his living room. Izayoi sat on the couch near the wall and Severus sat in an armchair across from her. That's when the bundle in Izayoi started to squirm and a tiny wail erupted from it. She unwove it to reveal a small head. It was a baby. A baby girl to be exact. It was a cute little thing. It had tufts of black curls on its head. She would have looked like a normal tiny baby girl, if it wasn't for her eyes. They were a stunning blood red that seemed to glow. At first sign of light, the baby stopped its crying and opened her eyes to see her mother. She smiled innocently and giggled.

Izayoi smiled back at her baby as tears went down her cheeks.

Severus smiled sadly at the sight before and decided to start the conversation. "How old is she now?"

"About four weeks." She answered as she gave her index to her child to grab.

"Can I hold her?"

Izayoi froze a moment before picking her child up and putting her in Snape out held hands.

Snape put her against his chest and just held her in silence while she just stared at him. Then suddenly she laughed and snuggled into his chest. Severus chuckled. "She seems to like me."

Izayoi smile grew, "Well, you are her godfather after all." Her face suddenly turned serious as she said, "Severus, you have to help us. They're going to kill her by tomorrow. Maybe you have an idea of where we could go."

"Of course. Come with me." He gave the baby to her and stood up. He walked briskly to the other side of the cottage, Izayoi walking closely behind him, her baby freshly wrapped in her blanket as it slept once again.

They stopped in front of a fireplace. Severus took Floo powder out of a box sitting on a table nearby.

"Okay just step in and say 'Severus' Sanctuary'. It should take you straight there. Ask for Mippy, she should help with all your needs. There's a town nearby that you can get all that you want there."

Tears of gratefulness sprang up in Izayoi eyes. "Thank you so much Severus." She one-arm hugged him and in her excitement she kissed on the cheek.

A light blush appeared on his face as his eyes widened slightly. Izayoi blushed as well and said, "Thank you so much Sev. You're the most wonderful friend I could ever have," she touched his cheek with her free hand, "I hope to see you again soon in the future." She smiled again and went into the fireplace and choked out "Severus' Sanctuary" and spun out of sight.

**End Flashback**

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'That was the last time I saw either of them.'

"Severus, anything to report? Severus? Severus?"

"Hey! Snivellus wake up!"

Severus snapped out of his rut and looked up to see a puzzled order and a smug Black. "Apologies. What was that again, Dumbledore?"

"I asked if there was anything to report."

Severus sighed before answering with a drawled, "I am afraid that I have nothing serious to report. The only thing that I have is that the Dark Lord knows something that he's not even telling his inner circle of followers. It's like he knows about something but he's just not telling us about it us until he knows for sure."

There was a silence in the room of Grimmauld place 12 where a Order of the Phoenix meeting was in session before there was a loud snort.

"Sure, that's what you want us to think."

Dumbledore tore his gaze from Snape to Sirius who was leaning back on his chair with his eyes closed. He admonished him with, "Now Sirius. Snape is our only spy who is in with Voldemort and his followers. We have to trust him and what he says."

Sirius cracked one eye on him and muttered, "Whatever." And closed it.

As the meeting continued, Severus slowly fell back into his slump thinking about his dearest friend and her child. Izayoi had been friends in school with almost everyone at the time. But she was the best with him and, unfortunately, The Marauders. She was in Ravenclaw: the house of the intelligent and usually neutral. That's what made her the best to be around. She never judged. She just… listened and understood. She was the best kind of friend and sort of an in between for all of the houses, at least that how she was seen. She was the prettiest girl in school and almost all of the boys in our year wanted her for themselves (or just wanted her in bed with them) but she managed to stay single and abstinent by the end of graduation. Well at least for that long…

Soon after graduation and Potter and Evans were married, Izayoi was captured by the deatheaters and raped by the Dark Lord _himself_. She was rescued but no one ever thought of the ramifications of the sexual assault. Soon after she became pregnant, but people didn't know it was _his_ child since she told no one of the rape due to shame. And when she finally had the baby, the nurse was shocked to see instead of lavender eyes on the child there were a pair glowing blood red ones. It soon came out that she had bore the Dark Lord's child and that he in fact had raped her during her capture. The wizarding world was outraged by this phenomenon and wanted the child immediately killed. Izayoi hade even gone as far as naming it: Ebony Morra Riddle. No one would take Ebony for a goddaughter. They did not want something like that smudging their names. Not even the Marauders, four of her best friend would take her. So when Izayoi asked Severus to be Ebony's godfather, he almost immediately granted it to be so. She was abandoned by her friends because she chose to let Ebony live.

Ebony was only three and a half weeks when the Wizengamot had made the final verdict to execute her. They did not want to risk the uprising of another Dark Lord (or Lady). Surprisingly almost all of Izayoi former friends and Dumbledore stood fully for killing the baby and it was made official: Ebony Morra Riddle would be killed on that next Friday, which was only a five days away.. Severus felt sorry for her but there was nothing he could do to help her without outright breaking the law. It wasn't until Izayoi came knocking at her door asking for desperate help to save her baby girl that he got a stroke of genius. He sent them to a secluded place in the States where they could be safe.

A few years later when he out was out of the clear (Severus had been suspected to have helped them) he decided to visit where they lived to find that they were long gone. The house elf gave him a note that Izayoi had written herself a few months ago. It had said that the British Ministry had asked the American to help find Ebony to be executed and they agreed to. She realized it wasn't safe anymore and decided to go to a little 'sanctuary' of her own and, to keep him safe, she will not tell him where it is. She once again thanked him for all the trouble he went through for them and hoped to see him again soon.

Her wish never came true.

Twelve years came and past and he never saw her again. After six years of searching, both Ministries called off their searches for Ebony. And everyone thinking that she was probably dead they slowly forgot about it.

But Severus never forgot. And he never forgave neither.

He hated the people around him for what they did. She had been a member of the Order before her capture and rescue and they all turned their backs on her. She was nothing but kind, generous, and thoughtful to those around her, and they were everything but _that_ to her in return. And here they were in their false happiness, acting as if they had not sent a young woman with a pure heart to exile. It was sickening to still sit with them, but in order to get rid of the Dark Lord for good he had to work with them.

As he sat there the words the Dumbledore and the others spoke just went in one ear and out the other. But there was one phrase that caught his attention and caused him to raise his head.

"Yes. Her name is Ebony. But it couldn't possibly be _that _Ebony. She hasn't been seen fifteen years; neither her nor her mother."

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, I know Moody but we have no evidence that she is absolutely dead, just that she hasn't been seen."

Severus was rarely confused. He was usually in the know. But right now, he was. "What? What's going on?"

Half of the Order looked at him before Dumbledore answered, "Weren't you listening Severus? Arthur had heard his daughter, Ginny you remember, talking about going to a concert for this singer named Ebony. She seems to be a real hit with the young wizarding world population around the world."

Severus thought about that for a second. What if it was her? Maybe she was alive? And if she was, was Izayoi alive as well? He could only hope.

Oh, they're talking again. Better listen.

"Now Arthur just in case this is she, do you have any pictures we could use? Maybe she uses her real face on stage instead of a glamour."

"I could probably ask Ginny for a poster of her. The way she speaks of this Ebony, I'm sure she has one."

"Make sure you do that. Well if there is no more business, this meeting is adjoined." And everyone rose to leave. But Snape sat for a few more seconds thinking of the possibilities of Ebony's and Izayoi survival before getting up and going home.

**End Chapter**

AN: So how do you like it? Really good? Really bad? R&R. Im almost done with the next chapter of my other story so don't worry about that. TTFN.


	2. Chapter 1

Next chapter comin' up.

Disclaimer: Still don't own him.

"Blah."

'_Blah_.'

**Ebony**

**Chapter One**

"Ebony! Come on! Our jet's ready to go."

"Okay! I'm coming!"

Ebon could be described by many words if you took the time to talk and get to know her. But to most of her many fans (usually the boys), she was described in simpler terms as "hot" and "gorgeous" and "beautiful." And with her long raven black hair that reached to her bottom and cutting blood red eyes to go with her pretty face who wouldn't think that. She usually dressed punk because she thought the look rocked. That day she was wearing a white V neck shirt with black strips on the edges, a black mini skirt with black lace on the bottom, and black shoes that had tied strapped to the middle of her calves. She had two diamond studs in her ear and two loops pierced in the upper cartilage in her right ear.

Right then she had been writing a new song in her journal. Her most wonderful journal where she wrote all her feelings in song form and usually they became hits. She closed it and put it in her duffel bag that she carried with her on the plane. She walked up to her on the plane. She walked up to her guardian, Katsui, and together they walked up to Ebony's personal jet. Since Ebony was only fifteen, she had to have a guardian with her while she was on tour around the world. As they settled onto the jet, she mumbled to herself, "Next stop: England." and sighed. Katsui chuckled at her expense and took a magazine from his backpack to read for the trip. That's when the pilot's voice came through the intercom.

"We are about to take off from Paris, France so make sure to buckle your seat belts."

Ebony and Katsui buckled their seat belts and braced themselves for take off.

And they took off. Ebony decided to follow Katsui's example and took a book from her bag to read. After about thirty minutes, she got bored with that and decided to go take a nap. That's when it hit her like a fist. 'I couldn't have forgotten it…Could I?' She picked up her bag and zipped it open in a hurry. She searched and searched in a frantic while Katsui looked at her from above his magazine. "Is something wrong, Ebony?" Ebony didn't answer n frantic search. All of sudden she shouted "AH HAH!" and ripped out a blanket; a blue blanket. She put the blanket to her chest and let out a relieved sigh. "I thought I had left you at the hotel. I'm glad I didn't though."

Katsui rolled his eyes and went back to his magazine. "You still that old thing. For god's sake. It's a frickin' baby blanket, Ebony. And how old are you now?"

Ebony looked at him, offended. "15 in two weeks! And it's not just a baby blanket!"

Katsui rolled his eyes once again. "Whatever."

Ebony glared at him before turning back to her blanket. She was right. It wasn't just a normal blanket. She had had it since she was baby and it was one of the only things she had to remember her mother by. One of the only things to remind her that her mother wasn't just a dream; that her kindness and beauty were real. Ebony didn't know much about her mother's past except for the stories she told her when she was a child. Her mother died when she was eight from sickness and she had no one left to take care of her. She knew practically nothing about her father. Her mother never talked much about him much except for the fact that he was a "very bad man." Her mother told her that many people wanted her hurt because of what her father had done, if that made any sense. To her it made none. She was not her father so why did she have to take responsibility for his actions. He mother told her how all of friends except for one had all betrayed her because they wanted Ebony hurt so much. The only person who stood by her was godfather, Severus. He helped them to safety. Even though she never met him, she had this picture of someone who wasn't like everyone; someone who had inner strength as well outer strength. But sometimes she had her doubts. Maybe she was wrong and he was just a bum. Maybe she would know and maybe she wouldn't. She just didn't feel like breaking that mold that she had in her mind.

When her mother died she had to live in an orphanage. That she couldn't live with. She ran away after a year when she was ten. She realized that life was much harder on the streets than in the orphanage but she was able to make it for two years in that hell. Then one day she saw a flyer for a talent show with free admission. The prize was five hundred dollars in cash. She just couldn't refuse and she had nothing to lose. She won and with her luck she ran into a man that happened to be an agent who was looking for fresh talent. He gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. She decided to work with him. And in one year she became one of the biggest hits in her generation. To her it seemed it was like something that came straight out of fairy tale, but she wasn't complaining. She still couldn't believe that she got so big in such a small amount of time. She was getting a lot of money to take care of her self and sometimes she gave it to charity. At first she felt really uncomfortable with all of her fame, but she soon got used to it without become big-headed in the process. She lived in a secluded mansion in United States where only a chosen few knew about to keep her away from the press and fans.

A sudden yawn shook her out of her thoughts. 'Might as well go to sleep before we get there. It's going be a long night before we're settled in our hotel.' And with that she closed her closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

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This was a very important Order of the Phoenix meeting for Severus today he was going to find if his long lost goddaughter was really alive or not. He knew that it was slim chance that she was alive and that he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he couldn't help. He tried not to let his excitement show as the rest of the Order was getting settled. He noticed as Weasleys walked in that Arthur Weasley had a briefcase, probably holding all the information he could get on this Ebony. Finally the meeting was beginning and, of course, the Ebony case came up first.

Arthur coughed, stood up and opened his briefcase. "Now I never saw the baby so you'll have to tell me if this is her." He took out a rolled up poster and went to a wall. He unrolled and stuck it to the wall.

There were several gasps and it took everything Severus had not widened his eyes to nothing more than a few centimeters. He knew in less than a second.

'That's her.'

She looked like an exact replica of Izayoi. She was almost as beautiful. She had the same piercing red eyes that he saw in her infancy. And she had Izayoi endearing smile and shining black hair. What she was wearing was rather peculiar though. She had two studs in each ear in her ears. She wore a bright red shirt that brought out her eyes and reached past her hips. She wore a plain black mini skirt with lace at the end and sneakers also a bright red. She wore heart shaped necklace. Her hair was left at her black. Her face was decorated with the smallest amount of blush and simple pink gloss on her lips. She looked smaller than he expected at fourteen, but decided to ignored it.

Severus was about to identify her as _the_ Ebony, but Black beat him to it.

"That's her! That's the Spawn of Voldemort! I say that we force her to come here and speak with us!" Black stood up in his ignorant rage.

Severus was outraged but didn't let it show and just Dumbledore handle it while he just stared at the picture of his goddaughter.

"Now Sirius, none of that. I'm sure that if we ask nicely, Ms. Riddle would be happy to speak with us. Maybe we could get into Hogwarts if she would allow it."

Black was almost speechless at the suggestion. _Almost_. "Dumbledore! You're not actually thinking that we should just accept her and let her into a school of innocent children!? Who knows what she could do to them! She could seriously hurt them!"

That's when Severus decided to step in. "Honestly Black, sit down. You're giving us all a headache. We're not even sure what she's capable of to see her as a threat. She could probably be as weak as any fourteen year-old her age." That was a lie on his part. If Ebony was anything like her parents, she was bound to be a very powerful witch with knowledge way beyond her years. Her mother wasn't put in Ravenclaw, house of the intelligent, for nothing. And the same goes for her father, who is the most powerful wizard in history.

Black glared bloody-hell at him before saying, "Stuff it, Snivellus! You're only standing up for her because you are his godfather. As if that's something to me proud of! She's Voldemort's daughter for god's sake! Of course she's a threat!"

"Oh please Black. Obviously she's going to be smarter than you so immediately find her as a threat."

"What was that Snape!"

"You're not deaf!"

"Boys! Sit down this instant. We will have time for _discussion_ after Arthur is done with all the information he has to share. Arthur?" Dumbledore looked at Arthur expectantly. After Black sat back down, Arthur took out a few papers. "I asked Ginny to tell me a little about Ebony and she was more than eager to do so."

After shifting through his papers, he began to read them. "She's fourteen, or course. She turns 15 on July 12. Her style of music punk/pop, not sure what that means. Her favorite color's red. Her favorite style of dress is punk, whatever that is. Her most prized possession is a butterfly barrette and a blue baby blanket. She writes what she feels in her songs mostly. Her hobbies are sword fighting, martial arts, dancing, painting, singing, shopping, and skateboarding. Her wand is cherry wood, phoenix feather, 12 inches. She chooses to not reveal her last name (for obvious reasons). She has given money to many charities since she became a professional singer when she was twelve. And her middle name Morra. That's all I could get from her."

"Anything else besides that?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well I have a song that Ginny gave me. Should we listen to it?"

There was a second before there were nods all around. "Maybe we should. As they always say: Music is the door to the soul." Dumbledore said.

Arthur took out a card out of his briefcase that was a bright pink. There was magic radio in the room so he went to it and put the card through a slit in it. "I believe Ginny called the song 'Take Me Away'." Immediately the radio started to play. It was a rock song, if Severus knew his music right.

"I was waiting all my life to know you  
All about you  
And now I'm staring in your eyes ocean blue,  
I'm all about you  
And in our minds it comes so easily  
But there's a feeling coming over me  
I wanna show you but there's no way we can really be free  
Everybody's watching  
Wouldn't it be good if we could be together

Take me away  
Take me far away from here  
I will run with you  
Don't be afraid  
Navigate and I will steer into the sun  
We will Run

I try to remember when I was just a child  
In my room  
My imagination used to run wild  
But I never knew  
That nothing's ever as it seems to be  
When a dream collides with the reality  
It should be easy when two people love each other truly  
Everybody's talking  
Wouldn't it be good if they would understand us

Take me away  
Take me far away from here  
I will run with you  
Don't be afraid  
Navigate and I will steer into the sun  
We will Run

We will run  
Whoa, oh  
We will run  
Oh, yeah...

Wouldn't it be good if they would understand us   
Wouldn't it be good if we could be together  
Take me away

Take me away  
Take me far away from here  
I will run with you  
Don't be afraid  
Navigate and I will steer to the sun  
We will run

I will run  
I will run with you wherever you go  
Don't be afraid  
Lets run away and I will steer into the sun  
We will run"

(FeFe Dobson)

As soon as the song ended, the card popped out and floated to the floor. Arthur bent down to pick it. The song had most people thinking. The song didn't really sound like harm. Could she truly be not that bad? Dumbledore clapped, snapping everyone out of their thoughts. "Well that settles that, doesn't it? One of us will have to write to her and ask if she would like to set a meeting for us. It's the only option."

Severus didn't miss a beat. "I'll do it."

Everyone stared at him in confusion before it dawned on them that Ebony was _his_ goddaughter. Of course, Black didn't get it and decided to blurt out rudely, "Why should you be the one to write to her?"

Severus glared at him and replied sarcastically, "Oh I don't know Black. Maybe because I'm her _godfather_, perhaps?"

Dumbledore smiled in an attempt to diffuse the confrontation, "Splendid idea, Severus. I'll leave it to you to set things right."

Severus' heart lifted slightly at the thought to actually contact someone that he thought that he would never see again. He would do it as soon as he could.

That's when it happened. Yelling that could wake up the entire neighborhood if they weren't under the Filius Charm.

"SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT! YOU'VE BEEN HERE ALL SUMMER HAVING THE TIME OF YOUR LIVES WHILE I WAS STUCK WITH THE BLOODY DURSLEYS!"

Severus smirked smugly when Black's mother started yelling bloody hell from the noise signaling the end of the meeting. "Well Black that was _your_ godchild and mother. _You_ must be so proud."

Black glared at him before leaving the room in a hurry. And Severus scored one for him in his imaginary score board.

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Harry was in his room at Grimmauld Place, sulking in his self pity. After his temper tantrum, he shut himself up in his room still wallowing in his anger. 'How could they!' he thought. 'After all I've done for them. They would treat me this way! I've done more things against Voldemort than any of them and they still treat me like I'm the weakest and stupidest kid in the bunch!' He had been sitting on his bed for a good two hours in heated silence while his friends were somewhere else. Right now he didn't care where they were.

That's when he saw it. A small piece of paper sitting in front of his door. 'It probably was slipped under there by someone'. He uncurled himself and walked to the paper to pick it up. At closer inspection, he saw that it was ticket. At an even closer look, he saw that it was for a concert for some singer named "Ebony". He opened his door and looked outside to see if the person who gave it to him was outside. There was no one. He left his room to go downstairs to see if he could someone to ask about the strange ticket. The only problem he had no idea where was going. He walked into a random door to find himself in what looked like a living room. His friends including Ginny and the twins were sitting around the room in silence. So, to break the silence he asked in a loud voice. "Who's Ebony?"

That's snapped everyone out of their thoughts and Ron jumped a foot in the air from his spot on the couch. "Harry!" he yelled in surprise.

Everyone stared at him. Harry smiled shyly walked over to Ron and sat next to him. "You know I can't stay mad at you guys forever. I just needed to let off a little steam." Everyone sighed in relief and smiled at him.

Harry took out his ticket and showed it to everyone. "Now back to the subject at hand. Who's Ebony?"

There was a silence before both Hermione and Ginny asked together, "You don't know who Ebony?!"

Hermione started talking first, "She only the best singer in both Muggle and Wizarding worlds."

"She rocks!" Ginny said.

"Plus she's hot." Ron said, earning a deserved thump on the head from Ginny and Hermione.

Then Fred and George joined, "He's right-"

"You know."

"She's totally-"

"Beautiful."

Then Ginny said, "We got you a ticket too so that you could come with us. Hermione got us all tickets plus three for chaperones so mom won't fret.

"Yeah mate." Ron joined in.

"We wanted-"

"To make up-"

"For leaving you-"

"Out for so long."

Harry looked from person to person in this talking charade. "You guys are the best friend I could ask for."

"Yeah we know." Ron said, earning him another good thump from Hermione.

"Well if think she's good. I guess I'll go with you."

"Yay!" Ginny yelled. And they went to talk about other things going on.

**End of Chapter**

AN: Done. Whew took me two day once I sat down to do it. Just as warning I'm going to be using a lot of songs from Fefe Dobson, Avril Lavigne, and Skye Sweetnam's arsenal and a few others. They just seem like something the Ebony I know would sing. How do think this chapter went. R&R.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: I just have one announcement. I would love to introduce my friend and schoolmate, Fighter Pilot, MY FIRST BETA. Whoo Hoo for email connections!

"Blah.**"**

'Blah.'

Blah: FP's Beta Notes

**Ebony**

**Chapter Two**

It was lot harder to go to a concert than Harry realized.

They had already gotten the tickets for it. Hermione took care of that. But that doesn't mean that was the final part of going to a concert. He had never gone to a concert before because of the Dursleys. He just thought that people just go to a place to hear a person sing or play an instrument of some kind but according to Ginny and Hermione, there was a lot more to it. He had to dress a certain way. That was also confusing, because Harry was just thinking about putting on a T-shirt and jeans and go. But the Ginny sent him back to his room and gave Ron directions to dress him 'appropriately' for Ebony's concert. Thirty minutes later, he came out dressed in a black T-shirt and dark blue jeans. That was pretty much all he had in his wardrobe that was worth wearing to his first concert. Ron came out with a blood red shirt (that was too close to the color of his hair) and black jeans. Fred and George wore black T-shirt that "Ebony" is smoky, swirled letters and dark blue jeans. The boys were dressed and ready for the concert in less than an hour. The girls on the other hand, took about three hours.

Ginny was wearing a sort of dress that had a corset-fitting top and the skirt part of it looked like it was ripped all the way around that bottom of the dress. The skirt was just a plain black while the corset was set of bright red and yellow mixed together like fire. She wore a red and yellow striped sock that went past her knee on her leg and the same patterned sleevelet on her right arm that reached to her elbow. Under the dress was black see-through shirt that was missing a right arm. She wore plain black shoes as well. On her face she wore black eye shadow and simple lip gloss. The boys were shocked but not as shocked as they were with Hermione's outfits.

Her hair was tied up. She wore a black dress with tied straps. The dress reached to her calves and had two layers at the bottom. She had two belts on that weren't tied to anything and just hung at irregular angles. She had black bead necklace around her neck. She wore black knee-high boots and over those red and black striped leg warmers. She had sleevelets on both arms of the same pattern as the leg warmers. She wore red lip gloss and black eyeliner around her eyes.

The boys just stared at the two girls in shock before Ron exclaimed, "Hermione! Ginny! What in the bloody hell are you guys wearing!"

Hermione and Ginny just walked by them while Hermione, "Oh hush Ron. All the girls dress like this at Ebony's concerts. It's the way to dress. Now let's see who are chaperones are, shall we?"

That when Fred and George both exclaimed, "CHAPERONES. We don't need chaperones! We're not bloody kids for god's sake!"

"Well mom seems to think so. She's asking people in the meeting today who would take us. She still thinks we're a bunch of stupid kids." Ginny said in a huff.

"Oh come on it's not like that. Mrs. Weasley just wants to make sure that we're safe. Ya know, with Voldemort alive and kicking." Harry said.

Ginny just glared at him before continuing to walk to the parlor to wait for their chaperones the other following close behind.

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"Ebony is having a concert? Here? Tonight? Why weren't any of us informed until now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well it was sort of a 'last minute' thing. Hermione had bought the tickets last months and hadn't told the kids until two weeks ago. And they didn't tell us until two days ago." Mrs. Weasley said grudgingly, since she had to ask people to chaperone at the last minute.

"I'd be happy to help you out, Molly. I don't have anything else to do tonight. I'd like to see what Ebony's music is about." Remus said with a warm smile.

"I'll go, too! Make sure it's not a trap." Sirius said loudly.

Severus snorted, "You can't go, Black, unless you want to give yourself to the dementors." He smirked as Black glared at him.

Dumbledore sighed before saying, "I'm afraid Severus is right. Sirius you can't go. You're still in hiding." Dumbledore then gave wide grin toward Severus and said, "Severus how about you go?"

Severus' smirk fell off his face in less than a second. "Me? Go to a concert for a teenage girl with a bunch of Gryffindor lions? Don't think that's going to happen, Dumbledore. There's no way."

Dumbledore smile did not go away though. "Oh… alright Severus. I just thought that you would like to go to see _your_ goddaughter in semi-person before we actually try to contact her. She may not want to meet us." Mostly everyone in the room knew what he was trying to do. He was baiting Severus into going to the concert. Only question was would it work.

It did.

"Fine. I'll go to the stupid concert." Severus said grudgingly.

"Well now that that's settled, I believe this meeting has adjoined since we have nothing to speak of."

The Weasley parents, Lupin, and Severus of course stayed. After a few moments of silence, Arthur coughed and said, "Well shall we join the kids. From what they said the concert starts soon and I know they don't want to be late."

They rose from their seat and left the meeting room. They walked into the parlor to see the kids already ready for the concert.

Severus looked around the room. The way all of them were dressed was peculiar, especially Granger's and the Weasley girl's. That's when Molly started yelling.

"Ginevra Weasley! What are you wearing! And the makeup!"

"Mom, calm down. All the girls dress like this to Ebony's concerts." Ginny said.

Hermione decided to step in, "She's right Mrs. Weasley everybody dresses like that to her concerts."

Mrs. Weasley began to calm down, "Oh alright then. Well here are you're chaperones-"

That's when Ron decided to yell, "Oh come on, mom! We're teenagers! I think we can take care of ourselves for one small little concert."

"I won't hear any of it, Ronald! You either go with chaperones or you don't go at all!"

Ron sat back with his arms crossed and looked at the two behind his mother. "At least we get Remus… SNAPE! Mom! You've got to be kidding!"

All the teens except for Ron slapped their hands against the faces for Ron's subtlety or lack there of.

"Can't we just have Remus!" He whined.

"No You cannot 'just have Remus'. Professor Snape volunteered to chaperone and I will not have insult his kindness. You will have come with you as well. He will protect you-"

"From what? A hot teen singing sensation? Mom, we're going to concert, not a dark alley. What could possibly happen to us there?"

That's when Molly hesitated for moment. She couldn't tell the children about Ebony's parentage. It could leak out somehow. Even though Ebony was still only a teenager, she still didn't trust the girl and wouldn't until they finally met her. So instead she said, "You mind your mother and take these two with you to the concert or you will not go at all, young man. Do you understand me?"

Ron tightened his crossed his arms and huffed, still glaring the wall in front of him. He then huffed out, "Yes."

"Yes _Ma'am_." Molly corrected.

"Yes Ma'am."

That's when Hermione decided to speak up, "Sorry to interrupt, but the concert starts in about an hour and if we want to get some of the good seats, we have to leave… now."

As everyone got up on that note, Harry pulled Hermione to the side, "Why would Snape _volunteer_ to come with us to a concert? I thought he hated our very existence. Why would he help us?"

Hermione snorted, "Oh Harry, don't be such a drama queen. I'm sure he just did it to help us out."

Harry just stared at her disbelieving as they walked outside, "You really believe that, don't you?"

Hermione snapped her tongue, "Of course I don't. He probably has his own reasons for wanting to watch us, but right now all we can do is just give him the benefit of a doubt."

Harry thought of the pro and cons of that statement before nodding slowly and spoke no more of the subject as the Knight Bus stopped in front of the group.

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Ebony was in her dressing room getting for her third-to-last concert of her Europe tour. She loved doing concerts. She just thought it as the best part of her fame. In a concert she can just let go and feel and do whatever she wanted (almost). She can get all her steam off and just go crazy. All of her fans screaming, the bright lights, and the music blasting in her ears… it just gave her a giant rush of adrenaline that just felt great.

She was just putting the finishing touches of her makeup on her face. Her classic eyeliner drawn heavily around her eyes with black eye shadow and she chose to use a dark red lipstick shine. As she finished she stepped away from the mirror and studied her look to make sure that it was perfect. "Ugh! Stop posing in the mirror already. You're a teen punk-pop star, not a super model."

Ebony rolled her eyes and turned around to glare at her guitarist, Cameron. "Shut up, Cam." He just sat on the couch that was against the wall. 'Look at him smiling like an idiot.' Ebony thought. Cameron was a twenty-three year old smart ass with a look to go with it. His hair was a bright orange with yellow at the tips to resemble fire. He dyed it that way when he eighteen.

A woman came behind her and put a hand her shoulder. "Chill, Ebony. It's all good. He's just messing with you." She smiled as Ebony turned. "You're right, Mo'Nique. I won't let the asshole get to me." Mo'Nique was black, tall, wise woman for her age of 24. She had short purple hair and had piercing on her ears, left eyebrow, and nose. She was the pianist of Ebony's band. Ebony continued to look in the mirror.

She wore a white and black striped tank top, black jeans, and simple black converses. She decided to wear a fingerless glove sleevelet the same pattern and colors as her shirt on her right arm and then a plain black fingerless leather glove on her left hand. She wore many black bangles on her gloved hand plus a silver-spiked wrist band. She painted her nails black yesterday while she was in the hotel, bored out her mind. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and let her bangs hang over her forehead. She wore a silver cross around her neck that hung down to her stomach. Her eyeliner made her red eyes stand out more.

'Perfect.' she thought with a smile. She sat on the couch, a good three feet away from where Cameron sat. That's when the door opened. "Yo dude. Have you checked out the food bar? They have _everything_ on there!" And in walked in Wolly, the bass of the band, carrying a plate piled with food. He put it on the table and he and Wolly began to chow down. Wolly was a brunette 21 year old with a very high metabolism. He was almost always eating something. Ebony and Mo'Nique watched in disgusted fascination as they stuffed their faces. "Boys." They mumbled at the same time.

The door opened again with a slam and a girl ran in. She spotted the two practically inhaling the food and her face darkened in anger. She walked over to them and slapped both of them in the back of the head, making Ebony laugh out loud. 'Good ol' Kim puts the boys in their place.' Kim was the drummer of the group, with a… somewhat angry disposition. Her real name was Kimberley, but if you wished to live you would _never_ call her that. She had five piercings in her right ear, three in her left, one ring in her right eyebrow, a stud diamond in her left nostril, and a tongue ring. Her dirty blonde hair was tied up messily. "How dare you guys eat all the food without me?! I was hungry too, ya know!" She stomped over to the couch, sat down next to Ebony and put her arm around her shoulders. "Hey. Pipsqueak. You ready?"

Ebony smirked without looking at her. "I was born ready."

Kim chuckled at that. "Yeah whatever. That's what they always say."

Ebony flipped her off.

The door opened a crack and in popped the head of Katsui, her guardian. "Hey you guys, the stage manager said curtain in 45 minutes so you should start getting…" he stopped in mid sentence when he saw that they were already ready. "Oh… well… ok well just hang around a little bit then." And he closed the door. Ebony rolled her eyes. "You'd think that he would realize that we're always ready way before the show even starts." Mo (Mo'Nique) said before sitting in a chair in front of the mirror. "He needs to learn how to knock. What if we were changing when opened the door." Kim said. Wolly snorted. "Oh sure. You would change in front of two guys." Kim threw a cushion at Wolly and it hit its mark.

"Ay Mo. Toss me my bag." Ebony said. Mo glanced at Ebony's duffel bag which was sitting under the makeup table. She picked it up and tossed it at Ebony. Ebony caught it before it slammed her face and opened it. She always brought stuff so she wouldn't get bored.

"What are you looking for?" Cam asked.

"Something to ease my boredom."

"Oh are we boring you?" Kim asked sarcastically.

"Yup." She shifted through the bag until her hand wrapped around something small. She pulled it out and realized it was her butterfly hair pin. It used to be her mother's but she gave it to her before she died she smiled at it as she remember all the good times she had with her mom. 'Times were so much happier then.' Sadness seeped in at that point.

She shook her head vigorously then slapped her cheeks. 'I can't keep looking at the past. Whatever happened happened. People die. That's all there is to it.' She shook her head one more time.

Cam walked over to her, "Hey. What's up Ebony. You just now startin' to get stage fright?"

Ebony snorted, "You wish."

Wolly walked over as well and said, "Good. Just like your song 'You Got Nerve!'"

That's when Cam and Wolly decided to break out in song, Cam playing an air guitar. They started dancing around the room like idiots.

We haven't met  
And that's okay  
'Cause you will be asking for me one day  
Don't want to wait  
In line

The moment is mine believe me

Don't close your eyes  
'Cause it's a chance worth takin'  
And I think that I can shake you

I know where I stand  
I know who I am  
I would never run away when life gets bad, it's  
Everything I see  
Every part of me  
Gonna get what I deserve  
I got nerve-

"I hate you guys." Ebony mumbled.'

Wolly and Cam shared a good laugh before Cam said, "Hey it's your fault for making such a shitty song in the first place."

"News flash. I made that song when I was twelve, when I was first starting my career. I made a lot of songs that I'm not proud of now, okay? It was way before I met you guys and I was still blinded by the darkness of conformism."

Mo chuckled, "Very poetic, Ebony, but stick to songwriting, not poetry."

Ebony stuck her tongue out at her when the door opened again. Katsui appeared again and announced, "Okay, guys. Curtain in 15. Band is wanted out onstage now." And he disappeared.

"Guess that's our cue." 

As they got up to leave, Ebony followed suit. "I'm coming with you. I'm not staying in here by myself."

When hey were outside she stopped and looked around the stage area. She looked around it, analyzing every part. She would have to say that every backstage is different in its own way. She stared at everyone that walked by her getting everything ready.

"Curtain in five!" she heard the manager yell. She blanched, "Already?" mumbled. That's when her band got on stage to set up their instruments. She smiled at them and they smiled back. Cam looked at her and gave her peace sign, which she returned. They had been working together for a few years now. She felt like they were sort of her family in a weird sort of way. Cam and Wolly were her annoying older brothers, Kim was her cranky older sister, and Mo was her wise older sister who she could talk to about anything. In her mind, everything was all good. The manager walked up to her and gave her a microphone. She stood near the stage, waiting for the show to beginning. She could hear the crowd already riled up for the concert. The screaming was intense. The manager on the other side of the stage counted down the seconds for it to start.

Three…

Two…

One…

A guy went onstage and starting yelling into the microphone in his hand, "Hello London! Are you guys ready to rock?!" The crowd's screaming raised a few more decibels in reply. "Well then, I would love to introduce your favorite rocker and mine… EBONY!"

She smirked and mumbled "Showtime." before running on stage.

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After a stomach wrenching ride on the Knight Bus, they got off the bus unsteadily, Ron almost off the stairs if Harry hadn't grabbed him the back of shirt before he hit pavement.

Harry looked around the area only to realize that the place was empty except for one building that looked extremely raggedly in appearance. It looked like abandoned theater. There was a sign above the entrance that was barely legible with dust that said "The Palace". On the entrance door there was a half ripped poster that said "Ebony". At first Harry was a little disappointed. It didn't really look like a place that a famous pop star would sing in. Then he realized that it was just a front. There had to be more to it, right.

Ginny, seeing his confusion, grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the entrance. "Come on. We have to gotta get seats." She smiled and pulled him inside.

That's when noise overcame him. It was a bunch of chatter mixed with music. There was another door that was guarded by a big man who looked like he wouldn't put up with any nonsense. Nest to him sat a petite woman in a fold out chair. As they walked closer the man put one of his big burly arms in front of the door leading to the stage audience, signaling them to stop. The woman yawned before holding out a thin hand and saying, "Tickets."

Everybody pulled out a ticket from their pockets and gave it to the woman and going inside. Hermione took out two extra tickets. She looked at Snape and Remus and said, "Don't worry. I didn't forget you guys." She gave the tickets to the woman and they all went inside.

Harry looked around the concert room. It was huge. It had no chairs on the floor part of the audience area but there were bleachers on the walls and a medium sized stage with a sort of catwalk part that was in the center of the main stage and extended in the audience on the floor. Lights of all colors shined all over the place from the ceiling and stage and light music played in the background. There was no one on the stage at the moment so he guessed the concert hadn't started yet. Looking at his watch he saw that the concert wouldn't start for another forty-five minutes. He saw that only about twenty people crowded around the stage while about another thirty sat on the bleachers.

Ginny dragged Harry to the stage while the other followed. Remus clapped his hands to get everyone attention. "Ok you guys. Have fun. Professor Snape and I will be sitting over there," He pointed to the some bleachers to the left, closest to the stage, "So don't worry." And with that, he and Snape walked off.

They stood there for the rest of the minutes, just watching the people flood in, filling the floor and bleachers. To as far as Harry could see the audience pretty much consisted of teens and young adults and dressed in both dark and bright colors. Finally he saw movement on the stage. The band was getting on the stage, setting up their instruments. The music streaming out of the speakers stopped. The screaming and chattering got louder meaning that more people were getting that the concert was starting. A short-bald man waddled out and walked in the center of the stage. He put a microphone to his mouth and said in big booming words, "Hello London! Are you guys ready to rock?!" The crowd started yelling so he decided to join. "Well then, I would love to introduce your favorite rocker and mine… EBONY!"

And there she was…

Harry didn't she had seen anyone prettier than her. Through all that make-up, he could tell she was beautiful. For a vague moment, she reminded him of Cho Chang, his fourth year crush, but for some reason this time it was different. Ebony was way better. She had long shining hair like Cho, but it seemed to shine brighter. Her eyes were a breathtaking ruby to go with that pretty face and she had a confidence about her that just came off in waves. But he had to admit that her eyes reminded him of another someone. Someone very sinister and cruel in his memory of him.

He shook his mind of that train of thought. He's supposed to have fun tonight, not think about the impending war. Scratch that. It was already there, the Ministry was just too full of assholes to realize it. He wasn't blind or naïve. He knew that the Ministry was denying Voldemort's existence altogether. And from what Hermione and Ron had told him, they were not only bad-mouthing the situation but also Dumbledore and him as well. He couldn't believe that the Minister could be such a prick and so full of himself that he could totally deny Voldemort's return and put the entire wizarding world in danger. And in Harry's opinion, the whole thing is bullshit. He wanted to do everything he could to help in the war, and from the information that he was given from the Order (which wasn't really helpful at all) he'll do what he can with when the time arises.

Oh there he goes again. He needs to relax and just have fun tonight, because it might be his last time to have fun in a long time. He just stared at Ebony for a good minute before he realized that he wasn't just there to see her but also to listen to the music. And he did just that.

…"Your sister's got 4 point O  
Your father's got his own talk show  
Your brother is the scientist who found the cure for morning breath 

I came here by taxi  
You came by limousine  
And all I have to offer you is this 

Just a stupid little love song  
(3 chords and a microphone)  
Just a stupid little love song  
(hip hop and rock n' roll)  
So sit right down I'll sing this song to you 

Put em' up  
Put em' up, put em' up

The captain of the football team  
The cheerleader's recurring dream  
You're on the road to Harvard Law  
I'm on the bus to Arkansas

I stand in your doorway  
Your world looks so enchanting  
And all I have to offer you is this

Just a stupid little love song  
(3 chords and a microphone)  
Just a stupid little love song  
(hip hop and rock n' roll)  
So sit right down I'll sing this song to you…"

It had a crazy feel to it and Harry looked around and everyone dancing around he decided to join them in their merriment.

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Severus watched his goddaughter dancing erratically on the stage with the crowd as she sang. He would die before he ever admitted but it warmed him to see Ebony smile like that. She looked older in up close. She had a boundless energy about her as she jumped and danced around the stage and catwalk. He just watched her, barely listening to the music she sang. It wasn't really his taste anyway. Then he heard it…

A song that gave him chills up and down his spine. It had dark feel to it and held an anger that you wouldn't expect…

"Daddy daddy  
Why'd you break your promises to me  
Daddy daddy  
Don't you know you hurt me constantly 

And there's something I think you should know  
I'm not the little girl you left waiting at home  
All the hurt and pain you left with mom and me  
Why can't I be angry  
I hope you're somewhere out there listening to this song  
I hope you're thinking what you did was wrong  
Well let me make it crystal clear for you to see  
It's too late for I'm sorry

Sorry is a word you like to say  
But sorry won't erase the things you did yesterday

And I want you to know that I didn't need you anyway  
And this rope that we walk on is swaying  
And the ties that bind us they will never ever fray  
But I want for you to know  
You are  
You are  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven

Daddy daddy  
Fan of absolute simplicity  
Daddy daddy  
Expert in responsibility

Where were you when I fell down and skinned my knee  
Where were you when I was scared to go to sleep  
Where were you to soothe my insecurities  
Why can't I be angry

Where were you the first time someone broke my heart  
Where were you when I first learned to drive a car  
Where were you when I could tune my first guitar  
It's too late for I'm sorry

And I want you to know that I didn't need you anyway  
And this rope that we walk on is swaying  
And the ties that bind us they will never ever fray  
But I want for you to know  
You are  
You are  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven

Sorry is a word you like to say  
But sorry won't erase the things you did yesterday

And I want you to know that I didn't need you anyway  
And this rope that we walk on is swaying  
And the ties that bind us they will never ever fray  
But I want for you to know  
You are  
You are  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven  
Unforgiven..."

'Well, No guessing who that song's out to.' After the song drifted to he drifted into thought. 'I won't be able to use that one during the meeting. I might have to edit the memory of this concert I before I show it at the meeting.' Even though Dumbledore didn't say it, Severus knew that at the next meeting he would have to show it to the Order for them to see and analyze. If they heard that song a lot of problems could come up, first on the negativity and darkness of the song and then who the song was made for. It wouldn't hurt to just hide the song from them, unless Remus squealed about.

That's when it struck him.

He lost himself in thought again. He needs to be listening for anymore songs that the Order would not approve of. So after that moment he focused only on Ebony and the concert from where he sat.

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**Two Days Later**

Severus sat in his room in his private little cottage. He had been sitting there pondering on how he was going to write this letter to Ebony.

He had already shown the memory of the concert to the Order yesterday. Even though they thought that almost all the songs could be described as bad-assed and rebelled, they couldn't find a real reason from her going to Hogwarts. So they decided to do it democratically, they voted. It was close called but it was officially decided that Severus would write a letter to Ebony to schedule a meeting and ask her if she would like to go to Hogwarts.

So here he was, for once in his life in a total loop of what to write in the letter. Part of him wanted to be totally neutral through the entire, another to tell her everything that happened those many years ago, another wanting to tell her how much he wants to be in her life. He couldn't decide, so he decided to wing it and write what came to his mind and see how it goes from there.

He had been configuring the letter for a good hour and a half before he finally had a copy that he was not happy with but it satisfied him enough to send it. He put it in an envelope that was close at hand and addressed with only "Ebony M. Riddle" He went over to the window where his trusty owl, Shade, sat. Shade was a sharp-minded grayish black owl. He always seemed to be able to send any letter that Snape gave him even if Snape had no idea where that person was, and he hoped Shade could do the same thing now. He tied the letter to the owl and said, "Give this straight to Ebony Morra Riddle. No side trips this time. Straight to her. Stay there until she has a reply." He had no idea how long she would stay in England so it would be great if he could get it to her before she left.

And with that, Shade left. Snape watched as he flew away until he was a speck in the sky and disappeared. He closed the window and decided to eat something to eat and just wait for her reply… _if_ she replied.

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Ebony was sitting on her bed, playing her guitar, bored as usual. The days after a concert were always a bore-snore. Katsui always said that she had too much energy for her own good. She shipped off in four days for her next concert in Germany (**AN: that's to you, FP**)(wahooooo!) She was writing in her journal again, trying to make a song to match her boredom, but to no avail. After about an hour of just plucking random strings on her guitar with no results she put it back in its case, put her journal in her duffel bag and sprawled out her bed. She yawned and looked at her watch: ten at night. She sighed. 'I guess I'll just have to ask around and see if there's a skate park in London tomorrow. If I stay in this hotel for another day, I might rot.' She thought. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Then she heard it.

A soft tapping noise on her balcony window. She cracked an eye open and looked at the door. There, flapping its wings was grayish black owl, tapping its beak on her window. She got up with a groan and started walking to the window, tripping on her guitar case. She fell on the carpet floor and cursed loudly and violently fro the pain. 'Dammit! Why do I have to be such a klutz.' She got up with another groan as the owl started to hoot loudly. "Yeah Yeah I'm coming!" She limped over to the balcony window and opened it and in flew the owl and it landed on her bed. It stuck it foot, seeming to already know the drill. 'Smart bird.' She walked over to the bird and untied the note. As soon as she did the bird flew ands landed on top of a chair in the room. She stared at the bird before going to her mini fridge in the room and taking out a few crackers. She gave them to the owl which ate them graciously while Ebony petted her head. She stared at it for a few second before going to her bed, sitting on it, and looked at the envelope in her hand, reading the address.

"Ebony Morra Riddle." She read aloud to herself. 'How did this person know my whole name? I haven't mentioned it in years.'

She tore it open to reveal a medium sized piece of parchment. 'Woah! Whoever wrote this is still living in the past. Parchment? Come on! Can you say 21st century?' she couldn't help but think when she started to read the letter.

_Dear Ebony,_

_I am guessing that you are still 14 since your birthday is July the 12__th__ and that is not for another week. You are probably wondering who it is that would contact you like this let alone know you're entire name. I don't know if your mother ever mentioned me, but my name is Severus Snape, your godfather. You are probably angry that I have never tried to write to you before. Well, to tell the truth I had no idea that you were still alive or not, and the same goes for your mother as well. I haven't seen you both since you were less than a month old. I hope she is well by the way. It would please me so much to see her again. We were best friends in school. But I digress. The purpose of this letter was to ask for a bit of your time, a meeting if you will. The organization that I work for would like a quick word with you on your education (among other things). I would like to meet you in person as well. The last time I saw you were at your concert a few days ago. I would like to see the character you have grown to be. And I would like to speak to you about many things concerning you past and parentage if your mother hasn't already told you. If you would like to, please reply with a time that you would like to meet at. I hope to see you again._

_Sincerely,_

_S. Snape_

Ebony refolded the letter and sat it in front of her. She lay back in her bed. She was shocked to say the least. Her godfather that she had never met (that she could remember) was finally showing his head. She wanted to meet him, really she did, but there was just one problem.

The "organization" that he was talked about. Even though he tried to sugar coat it, she knew exactly what he was talking about. When her mother told her everything, she meant everything. The Order of the Phoenix: the secret group which its only purpose was to go against her dad. 'Talk about lame! Like it takes all that to take down one man!' She hated to admit it but, she was afraid. What if it was a trap? What if they just wanted to meet her so they can get rid of her for good since they failed so many years ago? It was her godfather after all you wrote to her, but if he wasn't aware of the trick they're trying to pull. Or maybe he's along with them and is using the "caring" card to lure in the trap. And what the hell does her education have to do with anything.

Then she realized. Why should she care? She could take them easy? She's had the best teachers around who taught her to not only execute silent spells but to also to do them wandless. She also knew several martial arts so the "kicking their butt" option was still available. 'I'll just see what they have to say to me and if I don't like it, I can leave. It's not like they can kill me or force me to do what they want. I have legions of fans that would gladly tear them apart if they even tried to do something to me.' She smiled at the mental image. She did all these practical classes to protect herself. Ever since that hostage fiasco when I was thirteen, she wanted to learn all she could to defend her self and others. "It might even be funny to serve them what Ebony's cooking,' she froze at that thought. "I need to stop watching wrestling." She laughed a bit before picking up her letter, unfolding it. She walked over to her duffle and pulled out a pen then she went to the single desk in her room. She wrote a few simple words on the back of it and then tied it to the owl's leg. It flew out of the balcony window. She watched it as it flew high in the dark blue sky and disappeared. She closed the window and got under the covers of her bed, turned off her lamp and went to sleep.

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**Next Morning**

Severus was already up and dressed was just sitting to have small breakfast with himself when he heard a small hoot. He looked at his dining room window and saw that Shade had already returned with a letter in tow. He stood up in a hurry and walked briskly to the window to open it. The owl flew in sat on the table. Severus walked to it and untied the letter. Shade flew to his cage that sat in the living room to get some food and a drink. Severus studied the letter for moments. It was the same one he sent, but when he looked on the back it had loopy cursive on the back, typical of any girl her age. The message was small and simple, but had the point that he wanted.

_July 7__th__. Noon. London, England. Harrison Park. Don't be late._

He didn't really expect to write her any more than that, but he would've liked it if she had. He folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He looked at the calendar. It was the 6th. 'She wants to meet tomorrow?' He walked over to his fireplace and put some floo powder inside. He stuck his inside the green embers and spoke "Dumbledore's Office". He pulled his head out and waited for Dumbledore to answer, which he did moments later.

He saw Dumbledore's face smiled as he saw who was calling, "Ah. Severus how nice of you to call me. What can I do for you this morning?"

Severus decided to not beat around the bush, "You can schedule an Order meeting for tomorrow at 11:45. I had sent a letter to Ebony yesterday and had gotten a reply just a few minutes ago."

"Really? What did it say?"

"It said for me to meet her at Harrison Park at noon tomorrow. That's why I want you to schedule the meeting 15 minutes early."

"All right Severus. I'll get right to it. It is so nice that she would like to meet with us. I really do want to apologize with the poor girl for what happened to her. Even though I'm not really sure she could remember it." And his face disappeared.

Severus sighed before dragging himself back to the dining room to eat his breakfast. As he chewed on a piece of toast he couldn't help but think about the long awaited reunion with his long-lost goddaughter.

**End of Chapter**

AN: Sorry it took so long. This has to be the longest chapter I have ever written, but it was worth it. Hope you guys like it because it took me two weeks to think of how I was going to do this and then type it all up from scratch. (Now just mention your slow beta and you're all done.) Alright, alright FP geez. I thank my slow beta, Fighter Pilot for sending me to my path of good grammar and correct punk knowledge. Wahoo for Germany!

(Stupid Little Love Song: FeFe Dobson)

(Unforgiven: Fefe Dobson)

(I've Got Nerve: Hannah Montana) Sorry FP had to do it.


	4. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry it too so long. My beta went to space camp (Space Camp:_AviationChallenge!_ I am sooo not a space camp smurf! AC all the way!) so I had to wait a week till she got back. Bad beta! (HEY!)

"Blah.": Talk

'Blah.': Thought

(Blah.): Buffy's Notes

**Ebony**

**Chapter 3**

"Why are we here again, Albus?"

Dumbledore sighed from his seat. "I told you, Minerva. We are all here to have a meeting with Miss Riddle. Severus had gotten a letter from her saying that would like to meet us. Severus is picking her up from the location that was asked by her and we must wait for her bring her here."

The Order was all there at Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore couldn't help but fudge the truth a little bit. Yes, she did not say that she would like to meet them, nor did she even say if she knew of what happened those 15 years ago. But the Order didn't have to know that nor did she. Personally, he hoped she knew nothing of what happened. It would make things far more easier to control to the way he wanted. In order for her to stay away from Voldemort, she would have to be kept on close watch and the only way to do that is if she trusted them. He couldn't afford for her to go to her father's side. She could be useful.

Sirius chose then to interrupt his thoughts, "Are you sure this is such a good idea, Dumbledore? Taking her to our secret headquarters? I mean, can we really trust her? What if she's already in cahoots with Voldemort and just wants to meet us so she can spy on us for her father?" Some people nodded in agreement.

Dumbledore gave him a stern look, "Sirius, we do not know for sure if that is true, but is very unlikely that that has happened? And also, I will not expect you to like when you first meet her, but to at least be civil for the time being. That goes for all of you as well." He swept his head up and down the table as he spoke the last part.

Sirius reluctantly nodded along with others and tore his gaze to his hands on the table.

Dumbledore looked at the clock that hung above the door of the room. '11:45. He should be here with her by noon like he said." He sighed again and sat back in his seat as he waited.

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**Three Hours Before**

"Yo Eb! Be down in ten! We're going to the skate park!" The muffled voice of Kim yelled on the other side of her door.

Ebony looked at the door from where she was in her bathroom. "Alright. Be down in sec!" She put on the some lip balm and looked at herself in the mirror. Today was the meeting with her godfather and the Order and she wanted to be her punkiest. 'Show em' I won't put up with any of their shit.' She thought with a smirk.

She wore a plain white tank top with a black tie with a white skull and crossbones symbol on the end, a black pair of cargo shorts, black etnies and black hat with another white skull and crossbones symbol on the front jerked to angle on her head. She tied her black locks in loose down ponytail. She wore black finger less gloves, lots of black bangles on her right arm and a silver-spike wristband on left.

She put some waterproof eyeliner on and simple lip balm on before she left the bathroom. She was about to leave the room when she remember what Kim had said about the skate park. She back tracked and grabbed her skateboard than leaned on the wall. It was beautiful piece of work. It was totally black with red wheels, but had flames on the board. It was her favorite board of all time and she wouldn't trade it for anything. She left her room, and went to the grand stairs of the hotel. She decided to sit on the marble railing of the stairs and slide down the rail. She does that every time she goes down stairs (even though the manager doesn't like it when she does).

She reached the bottom and jumped off with ease and there was her "family" at the entrance with their skate park stuff. Cam with this BMX bike, Wolly with his carving scooter, Kim with her skateboard, and Mo with her in-line skates. She walked over to them. "Okay let's go." She was about to walk out when she was stopped by Mo. "Forgetting something, Eb."

Ebony looked at her for a second in confusion before smiling, "Oh yeah. Almost forgot." She snapped her fingers and her hair and eyes changed color. She was now a blonde and her eyes were a sapphire blue. Whenever she out, she changed her appearance and name. The name that she used in this form was Cascilla (Cas) Rose.

(From now on she will be named Cas until she turns back into 'Ebony'' okay?)

Mo smiled, "That's much better."

They walked outside into the blearing sunlight. "Dude, it's hot out here!" Wolly said, pulling his cap farther over his eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Kim answered irritably as always. Mo, Cas, and Cam sniggered as Wolly glared at Kim.

"Okay guys." Cam said. "How are we getting there again?"

Mo groaned in exasperation. "For the last time, Cam! We are going to go to the nearest subway, take it to center London and then walk the rest of the way ourselves."

Cam smiled and got on his bike, "Ok then. What are we waiting for? Christmas? Let's go slow pokes." And he began to race down the side of the street.

Cas dropped her board on the sidewalk and jumped on. "Come on! Last one to the subway is a conformist!" and kicked off and raced after Cam, the other following close behind.

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Severus hardly became nervous over anything. And if he did, he never showed it. But right then he was a nervous wreck. He never thought that he could get so worked up over meeting a fifteen year old girl. What's the worst she could do to him? She was a teenage girl for Merlin's sake. She couldn't be that bad, could she?

He was in his living room looking through old things looking for a specific picture when she saw it. The picture he was looking for; a picture of Izayoi and baby Ebony. He couldn't really see what she looked like at the concert since he was pretty far away from the stage. He had to admit that he was pretty eager to meet her and see the young woman she became. But he just couldn't work the nerve to leave the house and see her; and that was the problem. He had gotten dressed and eaten a small breakfast, now he was just sitting in his living on the couch, thinking about what she would she would look like but going to see her in person never crossed in mind.

He shook his feverously and slapped his cheeks. He could do this. He was Severus Snape. Feared by all children under the age of 17. He's been teaching for15 years. He could take one little girl. And with that thought he put on his cloak (even though it was like 85 degrees outside) and left his house.

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Cas was sitting on the ground at the skate park, watching her friends showing the "amateur" how it's really done. After about two hours of shredding the air, she got tired and sat to the side to watch. That's when she remembered her meeting and looked at her watch: 11:15. 'Better get going.'

She picked up her skateboard from beside and stood up. She stretched for a few moments before calling out, "Hey guys! I'll see you guys back at the hotel. I have to get someplace." She was about to walk when Mo and Kim skated towards her and stopped.

"What time will you be back?" Mo asked.

"One. Two tops."

"Where are you going?" Mo asked.

"Harrison Park in London."

"Why?"

Cas hesitated before saying, "Personal matters."

Mo and Kim looked at each other and then looked back at Cas.

"Alright. Be careful. And if anyone gives you any trouble…" Kim said.

"Kick their ass." Cas finished with a smirk.

They skated away to tell the others while Cas skated to the subway. 'Man. All this moving around is getting on my last nerve. I can't wait til I get my apparating license.' She thought as she sat on a subway train seat.

She still couldn't believe that she was finally going to meet her godfather. She had secretly wanted this happen since she ever heard of him when she was five. She just hoped that he wasn't nothing at all like she expected. The train stopped and the speakers spoke. "Central London."

'That's my stop.' She stood up and walked out when the doors opened. She left the subway station and skate boarded the rest of the way to the park.

Harrison Park was a small quiet little park with a playground for children and benches all around it for well… ya now. There was no one around so she decided to sit on the swings. She looked at her watch again: 11:50. "If he's not here in ten minutes, I'm leaving." She said to herself and swung a little on the swings.

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The first thing Severus did when he walked into Harrison Park was look around for Ebony. There was no one there except for blonde teenager swinging on the swing set in the playground. He took a harder look but still did not see the person he was looking for. He sat on one of the benches and looked at the Big Ben: 11:58. 'Where is she?' he asked himself. It's not _exactly_ noon yet, but he didn't think that she literally meant _noon_. He looked around the park and his eyes couldn't help but land on the girl again.

For some reason her appearance reminded him of a song that he heard at Ebony's concert a few days ago…

I was looking in the mirror

Trying to find

A new reflection.  
Wanna take the road

Less traveled in

A different direction.  
Make some new mistakes

Forget the ones I made.  
Cry some tears of joy

Dress more like a boy. 

And come back as a blonde

Try a different lipstick on

As a blond

Where I get whatever I want.  
I'll be ever so enticing

Cake, a lot of icing

Never have to watch my weight.  
Yeah when I'm gone

I'm gonna come back as a blonde…

Severus shook his to rid him of that song before he looked back at the girl who was about to leave. Big Ben rung meaning noon had come. Look at her watch looked around the park one more time. She seemed to be looking for someone as well. She sighed and was about to leave. That's when Severus got this crazy idea. Maybe that was Ebony and she was just under some kind of glamour. Not wanting miss the moment, he shouted out, "Hey you! Girl! Wait!"

He walked briskly towards the girl who stopped to look at him walk toward her. She didn't flinch when he stopped only a few inches away from her. "Girl. Could you be by any chance be Ebon-"

The girl eyes widened as she clamped a hand over his mouth. "Ssshhh! You want people to hear. Call me Cascilla for now." She pulled her hand away then sized him up before asking, "Who are you?"

Severus cleared his throat. 'Here goes.' "I am Severus Snape, your godfather."

Cascilla just stared at him for a moment before stating flatly, "Let's go."

"What?"

"Take me to see the Order. That's why you're here, aren't you?"

Severus studied her face, she showed no emotion and when she noticed what he was doing, she looked at the ground. "Oh of course. We have lots to talk about." He didn't bother asking how she knew about the Order.

Cascilla looked up and smirked at him, "We sure do."

He pulled out a piece of parchment and gestured for her to touch, which she did gladly. They disappeared within moments.

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"What's taking him?!" Sirius yelled in frustration.

"Patience, Sirius. I'm sure he's on his way as we speak." Dumbledore said.

That's when the group heard a soft thump and female voice groan "Ow."

Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that's her now."

Everyone sat up in their seats and the air tensed in anticipation. They heard more muffled words.

The door opened. First walked in Severus, closely followed by a teenage girl… with blonde hair and blue eyes?

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Cas grunted as Snape helped her to her feet. She picked up her skateboard and glared at Snape, "You could've told me that we were gonna land on marble." She rubbed her butt a few good times to get rid of the pain.

Severus looked, "I must have forgotten to mention. He turned and walked to a door. He gesture for her to follow, which she did. He opened the door and walked inside and Cas walked in next.

The Order had a lot less people than her mom had described. She took a quick look around the room and only counted about 30.

The person who was sitting at the very end on the other side of the long table was someone that she could easily recognized from her mom's description; unbelievably old, snow white, had an air of wisdom and leadership: Albus Dumbledore.

He frowned and looked towards Severus who had somehow stood behind her without her noticing. "Severus… Who is this girl? I thought you said you had a meeting with Ebony. She looks nothing like her."

Cas smiled mischievously and said, "Ooh! Sorry. My bad! I forgot to take off the glamour." Her smile turned into a smirk as she snapped her fingers and turned back into Ebony.

(Okay back to Ebony, shall we?)

Her bled back to a shiny black and her eyes glowed a fiery red. Some people gasped at her ability to do wandless magic and other glared at her because of her appearance. Ebony glared back, 'If they don't like the way I dress they can go fuck themselves. I didn't come here for their approval.'

"Ah Ebony! It's so nice to see you again. I must say you look totally different from the poster we have of you." Dumbledore said. Ebony could tell he was trying to keep the peace for as long as possible.

Ebony looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Poster?"

"Ah well, we had one our members get one of your posters so we could get an idea of what you looked like. I must say you look much taller in person." He pointed toward the poster that was still on the wall.

Ebony walked toward it, feeling every person's eyes on her and she moved. She ignored them to look at the poster. She studied it for a few moments before snapping her tongue and turning around to the group seated at the table. She pointed at it over her shoulder with her thumb and said, "Yeah, that's me… When I was twelve! Bit late on your info, aren't ya?" She smiled in satisfactory as some people blushed in embarrassment and one red-headed man sunk into his seat.

"Here's a 'more up to date' poster." She snapped her fingers again (causing a few more gasps) and in her hand was another poster. She unrolled it and put it over the first. She put her hand in the center of the poster to put a wandless sticking charm on it and stepped back from it so everyone could get a good look at it.

It showed the upper body of Ebony as they saw her and she was wearing an all black jacket. There was "Ebony" in smoky-swirly letters above her head. But the one thing that offended most of them was that she had her middle finger up in front of her and a smug smirk on her face. There was some grunted of anger and a few yells. Severus on the other hand thought it was amusing.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to calm the irate adults. Ebony just looked at him with a smirk on her face, mischief in her eyes, and her eyes, waiting to see what he would say to that. Dumbledore gave her stern look and said, "Ebony, I would like it if you remove that poster please. It's rather inappropriate for this meeting."

Ebony rolled her eyes and put her right hand in the center of the poster. In a second the poster was washed of any color, nothing but a blank, white, piece of paper. She removed her hand and the poster fell to the ground. Snap of the fingers and the poster disappeared.

She turned back to Dumbledore, "Happy now?"

He smiled _that_ smile again, "Delighted." He took out his wand and waved it. An overly stuffed chair appeared behind Ebony. "Please sit Ebony. We have much to talk about."

"I'll stand thanks."

"Oh… alright then… well Ebony, let me just say that I am so happy to see you again. I was so worried-"

Ebony interrupted him with a nice Slytherin sneer, "Cut the crap Dumbledore. Mom told me everything."

"Well I believe you have the wrong story-" That was wrong thing to say.

Ebony eyes narrowed in caged anger, "Wrong story? And what story would that be? The one where every single person in this room excluding one sold out a young woman that did nothing but want to love and protect her baby? Something that almost every mother in the world is guilty of. And for what? To kill a defenseless two week year old baby? That's low. Even for the Order of the Phoenix." There were many gasps around the room and Dumbledore's eyes widened considerably.

Ebony smirked in her angry tirade, "What? Didn't think that I would know about this little group of yours? When I said that mom told me everything, I meant everything."

Dumbledore was speechless (for once) and just looked at the girl whose eyes held such passionate anger and anguish. The person next to speak was not him.

Sirius stood up in fueled anger as he glared death at Ebony. Good thing looks couldn't kill. "Well it was the right choice I think! Looks like you're not all that different from your conniving father!"

Severus was so angry at what Black had said but said nothing, knowing that this Ebony's turn to say what she wanted. He would step aside… for now.

Ebony fumed at those words. "I AM NOT MY FATHER!" A vase that sat a few meters away blew up making many people in the room jump. Ebony, noticing that the vase exploded, tried to calm herself. 'Don't lose control. Don't lose control.' She breathed and then continued on her tirade. "I am my own person. Not my father. And if you can't make that distinction, you're dumber than you look."

That's when Dumbledore decided to step in before Sirius did something he'll later regret (or not), "I totally agree that you are not Voldemort. That is why we will skip right to your education. Now, have you ever gone to school for a professional teaching of magic?"

Ebony tore her gaze from Black to look suspiciously at Dumbledore, "No. I've been home-schooled ever since I started my career."

Dumbledore smiled grandfatherly smile _again_ and said, "Well how would you like a grand education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Your mother graduated from there. I'm pretty sure she told you that didn't she?"

Ebony breathed in sharply and clenched her fists as she looked at her feet and said, "Yeah she did."

Dumbledore's smile grew, "So how bout it then. Would you like to be a student of Hogwarts?"

Ebony didn't miss a beat. She looked up and glared at him, "You want me to go to a school where you're the headmaster and I'll be under your thumb at all times. That will make it so much easier for you to control me, wouldn't it? Ha! Keep dreaming! There's no way!" she walked to the door, opened and slammed it shut.

Dumbledore rubbed his face and sighed. 'That girl is making this way harder than it needs to be. If things keep going this way, then we're in big trouble.'

He looked at Severus with a withering stare, "Severus…" He said tiredly, letting the favor hang in the air.

Severus grimaced and said, "Alright." and left the room to follow his irate goddaughter.

Sirius slammed his fist on the table with force, "Why that little brat!" he looked at Dumbledore, "Dumbledore! You can't be serious letting that little spawn of evil go to Hogwarts! She could kill the other students!"

Dumbledore gave him a stern look, "Don't worry, Sirius. I'll make sure that nothing like that will happen." He took out his wand and waved it to fix the broken vase and put it back in its place.

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Severus didn't have to go far to see that Ebony had only gone down the hallway, realizing she couldn't just leave the headquarters. He walked up behind her and whispered in her ear, "We need to talk."

Ebony turned around in a hurry with an angry grimace on her face. When she saw who it was she visibly calmed but still looked suspiciously.

Ebony seemed to study him again and then said, "Severus Snape. So you're my godfather?"

Severus looked at her and said, "Yes I am. I want to speak to you."

"About what?"

"Things." He said simply. He walked behind her and pushed her into a room that was upstairs in the big mansion. He sat her on the moldy king sized bed in it and sat beside her.

There was silence in the room while Severus collected his thoughts on how he was going to approach this. The first person to speak was not him though.

"You don't have to explain your place in my life." He head, which was looking at her hands in her lap, rose to look at a slightly surprised Severus. "I already know about what you did for me and my mom. And ever since I learned of you when I was five and the risk you took, I've wanted to thank you. So… thank you."

Severus hesitated for a moment before sighing, "Your welcome." He said simply. That's when he decided to ask the question that had plagued him for 12 years. "How is your mother doing?"

Ebony visibly stiffened and her hands tightened into fists. About a minute passed before she answered.

"She's dead."

Severus, for the first time in a very long while, was in shock. He couldn't find the will to speak. He just sat there, staring into space. His best and only friend, Izayoi Uwameshi, was dead. How could this happen? She didn't deserve to die. She deserved to have a happy life with her daughter and live a long and beautiful life. And what about Ebony? What happened to her after her mother's death? Did she go to an orphanage or was left on the streets? Ebony's only 15. She's far too young to be left alone like that. And even though she put up a front of toughness, he could tell that she was still hurting on the inside. So he did the only thing he could think of to console her. He put his arm around her and awkwardly pulled her close to his side. Ebony froze with the unexpected touch, but then eased into it sinking her face in his shoulder and breathing in his scent. Severus felt wetness on his shoulder and automatically knew that she was crying softly. This wasn't in his expertise. He usually tried to make children cry than try to make them stop. He did the only think he could think of again and rubbed her back soothingly. He waited about ten minutes for her to calm down before he asked another question, "How?"

Ebony raised her head and looked at Severus. Amazingly, her eye makeup didn't come off with her tears. He took a handkerchief out of his cloak and gave it to her to wipe her wet cheeks.

"Disease." She said as she wiped away her tears.

"How long?"

"Seven years."

'So she died when Ebony was only a child.' Severus thought sadly.

"Where did you go after she died?"

"An orphanage and then I ran away and lived on the streets for a couple years."

Severus sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, "Ebony… I'm sorry. If I had known I would have been there in less than a second. But I had no idea where you two went. I didn't know what to do. It's-"

"Don't say it's your fault. It's not your fault that mom died. It's not your fault we had to hide. It's the Ministry for having such a stupid fear for one man. I mean, come on! My father couldn't that bad could he?"

Severus looked at her in surprise. "You don't know about what your father ahs done?"

"No. My mom just said that he was very bad man and had made a lot of people angry with him." She paused and looked at him meekly, "It's worse than that, isn't it."

Severus hesitated before saying, "A lot worse." He proceeded to tell her everything in detail of her father's misdeeds and the reason why she had to run. He told her of how he is the powerful, darkest wizard in history and how he is on the top of the most wanted list. He told her of the countless people he killed in his thirst for power. He told her of her father taking a new name other than Tom Riddle: Lord Voldemort. He told her that he so feared by all that people were even afraid to say his name, calling him You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the Dark Lord. He told her all this and more while Ebony listened with horrified fascination. And when he was finally finished, she just sat there in shocked silence absorbing all that he had said. Severus didn't expect her to be anything less. He sat next to her and gave silent comfort as she thought of what he said.

"My dad was that bad, huh?" she finally said after twenty minutes of dead silence. She was looking at her hands again but Severus could see the tears that dripped onto her hands.

"So that's why they hate me." Her voice dropped to a soft whisper. Severus grabbed her wet chin and made her look at him. "Don't you dare have those thoughts I know you're having." He didn't have to read her mind, if he could, to know that her thoughts were going there. "It wasn't your fault you were born. It wasn't you fault that your father is one of the most evil wizards in history. It's not your fault that you're here today. Don't let what your father did haunt your every action. You've grown into a very special girl and you ARE your own person, not your father."

Ebony nodded her head and Severus let go. After a few more minutes, Severus decided to move on. "How about we talk of something else, shall we?" he said as he gave the same handkerchief to wipe her face again with.

"Like what?"

"Your education."

"I don't need to go to school. I've been home-schooled-"

"For how many years."

"Three… years…" she said meekly, knowing what was coming next.

"That is certainly not enough years to learn centuries of information."

"Oh please. I'm a music star. When will I ever have to learn _centuries of information_?"

"You never know."

Ebony paused for a second to think on her. "There is no way I'm going to a school where Dumbledore's the headmaster."

"Don't you worry yourself with that. I will personally make sure that he can never have his hands on you. I promise."

"How can you do that?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm the potions professor of Hogwarts. You will be learning potions under me."

She paused again to think over her decision and reluctantly said, "Okay."

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The Order was still waiting when the door slammed open. In walked in Ebony once again, followed by a calm Severus Snape. Ebony attitude had changed a small amount. It seemed to be more haunted and subdued than before, but barely anyone noticed.

She turned back at Severus Snape with somewhat of a begging look, but Snape seemed to be firm on his expression, making Ebony sigh and turn back to the table. "I have two more concerts to do before my Europe tour ends. That will take about two weeks for me to finish. That gives me another two weeks to buy my things for school," she put of two fingers for effect, "Just send me a letter and the ticket for the train and I'll take care of everything else." She said grudgingly, not looking at the wall to her left.

Dumbledore smiled grandfatherly, "So does that mean you will go?"

"I wouldn't be saying all this if I wasn't." she said rounding her eyes on Dumbledore with a sarcastic smirk on her face. He clapped his hands, making Ebony twitch slightly in annoyance. "That's grand news! Just tell me if you need any help-"

Ebony turned up her nose, "I will not need help of yours." She picked up her skateboard that she left on the wall near the door and walked out with Severus coming along with her to take her home.

Dumbledore sat in his seat and sighed. He and the others knew the meeting wasn't over until Severus returned and they talked over what they heard.

"Well I would have to say she is a very vindictive girl." Mrs. Weasley said.

"I like her!" Tonks exclaimed. Most of the people in the room, including her cousin looked at her as if she was insane. "What? She's got attitude. I like that in a girl."

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(AN: I should end it here. Naw I don't think I will.)

Ebony and Severus were in the hallway once again. Ebony replaced her hat on her head, "So you are giving me the portkey to get out of here or are we going to stand here all day." She wore a smile to show he was kidding.

"Well we have to leave before I do that. The portkey only works going in, not out."

Ebony gave him a weird look, "That's retarded." She said simply.

"Indeed." He agreed slowly.

"Well let's go then." She snapped her fingers to change back to Cas and ran to the nearest door before Severus could stop her.

She swung the door and she realized it was the wrong room. It seemed to be a parlor of some sort. But the thing that shocked her was that there were teens sitting in he room, talking. Of course they stopped when she walked in. The was a girl with brown frizzy hair tied back in a ponytail and another girl with fire-red hair. There were three other boys with the same hair, so Cas guessed that they were the girl's brothers. And then there was one more boy with jet black hair, but the thing that caught her attention was his striking emerald green eyes.

She blushed lightly as she looked around the room to see them all staring at her. "Sorry. Wrong room."

That's when she felt a being behind her and knew that it was Severus. "Come Cascilla. The exit is this way." He weaved his arm around her shoulders and steered her out of the room.

"Who were they?" Cas asked. 'Mom said that was an all adult organization. Why are kids here?' she thought to herself. "Students of Hogwarts who are staying here for the holidays. They will be your schoolmates and maybe even, god forbid, your housemates." He said with a sneer adorning his face. Cas looked back at the door as it was opened by the black haired boy. They stared into each others eyes for a second before Cas decided to break the connection. She turned her head forward to see which way Severus was taking her.

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"Who was that?" Hermione asked from her seat on the floor as Harry closed the door and returned to place next to Ron on the couch.

"I don't know, but if she knows Severus, then she's nothing but trouble."

"Oh hush Ron. We don't know that for sure." Hermione admonished.

"Oh come on, Hermione! You saw how they were. It's so obvious that they are some kind of chummy with each others."

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation with Ginny about magical makeup.

Ron began to continue his long-winded lecture about the Chudley Cannon, which Harry respectably listened. But in the back of his head he just couldn't help but think about that blonde haired girl.

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Cas had the feeling of falling from the sky as she landed on the soft, cool, green grass of Harrison park. Severus once again landed on his feet and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks." She said as she dusted off her pants.

"Don't mention it."

They stood in silence for a few moments, looking for something to say. "Well… I'll see you in two weeks?"

"I'll be the one meeting you on the station at Hogwarts so need not worry."

Ebony smiled at him and dropped her skateboard. "Until then, huh?"

And then she skated off, leaving a perplexed potions master in her wake.

'She's definitely your daughter, Izayoi." Thought to himself and then he disappeared.

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He appeared at Grimmauld Place but stopped before he opened the door that the Order was behind to prep himself for inevitable interrogation. Even if he was sort of trusted by him, Dumbledore always seemed to try to get every bit of information from him, even the bits that Severus didn't want in the open. With a tired sigh he opened the door.

Dumbledore looked at him with another smile. "Ah Severus now that you're here we can begin."

Severus held back the need to roll his eyes and sat in his usual seat.

"Well, we know that Ebony is a rather… eccentric young lady that has a tiny rough edge to her." Dumbledore started.

"She seemed to have a good head on her shoulder, sort of." Charlie Weasley said weakly.

"We didn't really ask her any questions. Not about if she knew who her father was or anything like." Moody grunted.

"Did she even know of what her father has done? All the lives he's ended and ruined." Bill asked to no one in particular.

"She didn't. She does now. I told her." Severus said garnering a few looks which he didn't acknowledge.

"Oh Severus I don't think you should have done that." Dumbledore lightly rebuked.

Severus glared at him in anger. "She of all people deserved to know who her father is and what he has done. Izayoi never told her the full story. Just a general story that would quench a child's curiosity of their father."

"And that leads us to a question that should have been asked first." Lupin began.

Sirius looked at him with curiosity, "And that question is…?"

"Where is Izayoi?" Lupin said.

Sirius rounded his eyes on Severus, "That's right Snivellus. Where is Izayoi? Did you even ask that question while you had your little heart to heart with the little bastard?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at the insult toward his goddaughter, but answered the question, "Of course I did, you disgusting mutt."

Dumbledore stepped to stop the rude retort that was bound to come. "And what did Ebony say?"

Severus looked at him and then toward his that sat in front of him on the table, then he said simply, "She's dead."

There was a tense, deadly silence around the room as everyone looked at him in shock. After several seconds, Black was the first to speak. "Wh…what do you mean…dead?" he asked shakily.

Severus looked at him rare fire of pure hate in his onyx eyes. "What other meaning "dead" is there? She died seven years ago. About a two year after the Ministries decided to end their searches for them. She died of sickness. She died partially alone, with only Ebony to give her company for her last hours." He wanted to rage at them. He wanted to scream and yell at them for they did. She could have lived. She could have, dammit! If they hadn't shunned her! If they hadn't abandoned her in her time of need. After all the things she had done for them, her life ended with only her daughter next to her as she breathed her last breath. He didn't think he could imagine her pain. To have all that happen to you and still have to be strong for your child's survival, only for it all to fall right from under you.

"Wait. She died seven years ago? Then that would mean that died when Ebony was only a child." Arthur said.

"Oh that poor child! She was all alone." Molly said despairingly.

No one said anything. Most thinking about what their mistakes have done to not only a young woman but also a little girl. At the moment they couldn't have been more ashamed of what they had done.

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Cas skated inside the hotel. She jumped off her board and looked at her watch. '2:30! Oh man! I'm late! Kim's gonna totally kill me!' she thought in alarm.

She picked up skateboard and sprinted to the elevator to go to the floor that they all stayed on. When she walked in, she snapped her fingers to change back into Ebony. As soon as the door opened again on the 21st floor, she darted out and almost crashed into a bell boy. The boy didn't seem to mind though; it was _the_ Ebony after all. She ran to the end of the hallway and leaped over a box of soap as she went. She stopped and skidded to a stop in front a door that was numbered Room 2112. 'Kim's room.' She knocked lightly on the door, secretly hoping that Kim wasn't in right then. Unfortunately, fate was against her that day. The door swung opened she was pulled inside. Next thing she knew she was thrown on the bed and was met with the faces of an irate Kim, Mo, Cam, and Wolly.

She gave them a nervous smile, "Hi guys."

Kim's face became more irritated, "You're late."

Ebony sat up as they back away, "Yeah well… I sort of lost track of time. Sorry."

"Next time call if you were going to be late. We were worried." Mo said in her authority voice.

"About that… I forgot to bring my cell phone-"

"Well next time don't forget dammit!" Cam said.

Ebony looked at her hands in her lap, "Sorry." She mumbled. She hated it when she worried them. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Kim and Mo sitting beside with forgiving smiles on their faces.

"Alright. You're off the hook. But you better tell Katsui you're back. He practically had a heart attack when you didn't come back on time." Wolly said, getting a laugh from Ebony.

"Alright, but later we're going to the arcade. I mean, come on! It's only 2:30!"

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**8 hours later**

Ebony lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling of her private suite. They had spent the rest of that day at the arcade, just trying to get the high score on every game in the place. They had stayed there long before everyone else had left and then they had to leave when it closed. It was otherwise a great end to a wonderful day. Now that she was on her bed again, her mind had calmed down enough for her to think about the information that she had learned from her godfather.

Her father was evil tyrant. Hmm… even that one sentence at the time of being was told hard for her to wrap her mind around. But now that she had time to think about it, it didn't seem that farfetched. When she was child, she usually played alone because most children were afraid because of her blood red eyes. Many adults who came across her thought that she was devil's spawn (even if they were wrong, they weren't too far off from the truth). She was picked on a lot in the orphanage because of the evil connotation of her eyes. Not many people would adopt her because of her eyes. And those who did shortly took her back because of weird happenings that hadn't started until they took her home (which she knew was accidental magic). After a while she got tired of being ogled at in fear and not being wanted, so she ran away to he streets, Where she wasn't exactly cared for and was still not wanted, but she didn't have to deal with all the fear and hate ridden looks she had acquired. That was the thing she hated the most. Now she knew where her eyes came from. An evil, cruel, conniving, asshole. She already had a bad impression of him, and she hasn't even met him yet.

For some reason she had a feeling that she was soon going to. Even if she really didn't to.

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**End of Chapter 3**

AN: So what do you think of this chapter. R&R. Now that I'm finished with this chapter, I will now start working on chapter 5 for Unexpected Youth. I just wanted this one to have as many chapters as UY. As for those who asked, I mentioned in the last chapter that all of them except for Ebony are adults

(As A Blonde: FeFe Dobson)


	5. Chapter 4

"Talk

Disclaimer: Ugh! Do I have to? Do I really need to remind you every chapter that I don't own them? It just makes me more depressed every time I type it.

"Talk."

'Thought.'

_Parseltongue_

(x-Maggot-x's Notes. Beta has had another name change.)

**Ebony**

**Chapter 4**

He had to be losing his mind…

He just had to be…

There could be no other explanation…

Severus just could not wrap his mind around the fact that he was willingly doing this. He would never do this for just anyone (in fact at one time he might've never done it at all); he rarely ever went to the Leaky Cauldron for that matter. He found that the service and customers was a little neanderthal for his taste. But for some reason here he was sitting at a table drinking herbal tea. And the reason why you ask? One reason:

_She _asked him to.

Two weeks after Severus had last seen her, he had gotten a letter from his goddaughter, asking him to be here for one special reason: to help her shop. Severus took the folded letter out of his cloak pocket and read it for the thousandth time that day.

_Dear Severus,_

_Even though I said I wouldn't need any help… well… I do. I just got the list tonight and just looking at it tells me that I might just need that help that Dumbass _(he snorted at the name)_ had offered. Though the only person I could trust to take me was you. I was just wondering if you could meet me somewhere like the Leaky Cauldron or something and then help me shop for school supplies. Think about it… you sort of owe me for talking me into going to this school. Well nothing else to talk about here. Just reply ASAP if you're available._

_Sooner or Later,_

_E.M.R._

He had gotten this letter last week and it was only a week before school started. He had replied the next day telling her to meet her on Saturday (the day he was least busy) at ten o'clock the next week.

And today was Saturday at 9:50 right now. Even though he didn't have to be he decided to come early in case she was too so they could start early if they wanted-

Speak of the devil.

There she was, walking through the front door the Leaky Cauldron. She walked in tentatively, sparing a glance to every table before landing her blue eyes on him. She was in her Cascilla guise and was wearing very peculiar clothing once again. She smiled and walked hurriedly over to him. She stopped an inch in front of the table and leaned over the table so that Severus' and hers noses were almost touching.

"Hey Severus. You ready to go?" she said with a cheery voice.

Severus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her tone and replied with, "Do you have your list?"

"I sure do." She reached into a blood red bag which had a black cross on it that lay on her side from a strap on her shoulder and pulled out a piece of folded parchment.

"Let us go then." He stood and turned on his heel. He sensed that Cascilla was following close behind him as he walked to the back of the shop and stood to a brick wall. He moved his wand across the wall in the necessary formation and the brick wall of course moved aside. Severus stole a glance at the girl who stood beside him. Even though her face didn't show it her eyes showed how amazed she was at Diagon Alley.

"Let's get this over with." He muttered as he walked inside.

"Of course, Uncle Sev." She said mock cheerily again as she walked ahead of him when he stopped suddenly at the name.

"What?" he said in a seemingly calm voice.

Cascilla stopped and turned towards him. She gave him a sly grin. "Ever since I had heard of you from mom, I've always wanted to call you Uncle Sev. So now you're stuck with it." And with that she turned back around and continued to walk. After a few moments, Severus followed her; a frown on his face, but for some reason he couldn't ignore the feeling of his heart rising slightly at the endearing name.

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Ebony was putting the finishing touches on her outfit before she went out. Today she would be going with her godfather to get her school supplies.

She still couldn't believe that she was doing this.

She hadn't gone to school since she had left the orphanage. And now she was going to. The closest she's ever gotten to kids her age was during concerts and public appearances; nothing more. Now she was going to be surrounded by them almost everywhere she went. Loud, obnoxious children all over the place.

She shuddered just thinking about it. Although she conveniently forgot that she herself was still a kid.

But Severus asked her to do it so suffer she would.

After finishing her tour last week, she finally had time to look at her supplies list to see what she would need for the year. One look and she knew she would definitely need help tracking all these things down. She knew that the list was adapted for the local magical marketplace for the school and after doing some research she found that it was called Diagon Alley. So she asked the first person she could think of that could definitely help her: Severus Snape. She told the band as soon as she got back from writing her letter and even though they were happy that she had finally met her godfather (she spoke of him a lot around them before she actually met him) and was getting a true education they were also slightly unhappy that they wouldn't see her for about ten months or so. They didn't want her go almost as much as she didn't want to go herself. She decided to not tell the full details of her past life; too much drama; but she just told them she was reluctantly going to this school out of obligation since her mother had gone to it when she was a kid. So here she was in the same hotel that she went to three weeks ago for her concert in London.

After finishing up her make up, she stood back and looked herself over in the mirror. She had her hair tied in a messy ponytail ponytail, a few wisps of hair framing her face. Ebony had two red hairpins in her bangs to hold from her face: one a heart and the other a cross. She wore a black short-sleeve shirt with lace under a white tank top that had a red cross on the front and a black skirt that reached her knees with white lace. She was wearing long socks up to her thighs that were striped red and white, black leg warmers and red converses. On one arm, she wore a thin arm warmer that was striped black and white under a thick black arm warmer, and on the other she had a thin arm warmer that was striped red and black under a thick black arm warmer. Her nails were a blood red. Her lips were a simple shiny red while her eyes were decorated with thick black eyeliner and red eye shadow. (Hmmmm red much? Hehehe.) (what's wrong with that?)

Ebony tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she stared at her reflection. It looked good but it was missing something… but what?

She stared for a few moments before her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers in realization. "That's it!" she said aloud with a smile as she ran from the bathroom and to her bag that sat in front of her bed. She wrenched it open and search through of all her clothes. A couple minutes of sifting through her messy bag, she found what she was looking for.

An incredibly look black scarf with a red cross on each end of it. It worked perfectly with the outfit. She wrapped it two times around her neck and even then it still reached down to her calves.

Ebony picked up her red bag from her bed and went out the door. She snapped her fingers once she got into the elevator turning instantly into Cascilla. She decided to walk to The Leaky Cauldron seeing as it was only a few blocks away for the hotel. She garnered a few looks from the people she walked by; either because of her overall look or because she was warmers and a scarf during summer; she didn't really know nor really care either.

She stopped in front of her destination and looked at it. It looked like a regular tavern and on the front was dust-covered sign that read: _The Leaky Cauldron_. She looked around at the people walking around her, noticing that people simple walked by it as if it wasn't there. 'Must be muggle proof.' She thought idly as she walked inside.

It was dimly lit with only a few candles lit throughout the entire tavern. There was a bar to the right wall and a set of stairs in the far back, meaning that it could possibly be an inn. Some people looked at her as she entered before returning to their conversation. Cas swept her eyes across each table looking for the one person she came for.

Severus was sitting at a table in the far back. He was wearing black clothing and was covered with a heavy black cloak. He was staring at her as she walked over to him. Cas noticed slightly that he had raised an eyebrow at her choice of clothing. 'He can't say anything. I mean he's wearing heavy black clothing in the summer for Christ's sake!' she thought.

Quickly showing him her folded list of school supplies, they went through the secret passageway to Diagon Alley. Even though she would never say it aloud, Cas had to admit that Diagon Alley was a pretty mesmerizing sight. They were people walking everywhere from one shop to another in all kinds of different sizes and different colored robes. Cas didn't really get to spend too much time in one place to check out any magical communities like this; she usually just ordered her stuff by owl to wherever she was. But now she was able to slow down for a bit and see the magic for what it was: magnificent. As they walked further Cas tried to look at all the shops at once, but to no avail. Many young witches and wizards froze in their shopping at seeing the strangely dressed girl and the 'evil' Potions' Professor walking side by side toward Gringotts.

Severus froze in his steps after a few minutes of walking and turned towards her. "Did you bring any money? I doubt that you have a vault considering you didn't really spend much time here when you were born and I couldn't have left you any money to use since he thinks you're dead…"

Cas gave him a cheeky grin before reaching into her bag and taking out a small red card that, on closer inspection, had a signature that read Cascilla Rose. "Don't have to. I can charge all my purchases and the money gets taken straight out of my vault in America." She gave him the card to study for himself. Cas had two cards for when she went shopping; One with her real signature, Ebony Mora Riddle, and the other with her fake name, Cascilla Tilly Rose. That way she can buy whatever she wants in whatever look she has on and not give herself away to nosy merchants. Severus gave it back to her shortly after sparing it a glance and stuck out his hand once again, obviously wanting something from her.

Cas looked at it for a second before realizing what he wanted. With an "Oh!" of comprehension she pulled back out her list of materials that she would need for the year.

Severus opened it curtly and skimmed it before returning to her. "You carry the list and read it to me so we know what we're looking for next."

Cas answered him with a small nod.

"First you need robes so come along." And with another billow of his robes he walked forward, Cas following close behind, idly wondering how he did that robe thing.

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'That took way longer than it needed to be.' Cas thought irritably as she walked out of the bookstore and by the sour look on her godfather's face he was thinking the same. She had already bought her school robes and schoolbooks. And for some reason each task took about an hour each to fulfill. Madame Malkins had been working on more than one customer in the shop so fitting took an awfully long time and then her book buying was held up by a long line and then the clerk had to go back in the storage room to find two of her books so by the time they were finished with those two tasks it was already time for lunch.

They were making their way back to The Leaky Cauldron to eat there when Cas suddenly tripped; her books and robes fell out of their bags. Cas stood up on scraped arms and looked around at the mess with a groan. 'Dammit! Me and my fucking clumsiness!' She thought with a grimace as she looked at her arms. 'A few scratches here and there but I'll live.' she threw her arms to her sides in annoyance and pulled her feet in front of her to see that one of her shoes was untied. 'Great… just fucking great!' She hurriedly retied it and then looked up to see if Severus was still around. He had disappeared in the crowd of people walking around. With a tired sigh she began to pick up her school robes first before they were completely covered in footprints.

Once done with that, she began putting her books back in a bag when a hand shot in front of her, holding one of her books under her nose. "Did you drop this?" a deep gentle voice said from in front of her. Cas looked up and right into a pair of emerald green eyes.

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Harry, Hermione, and Ron were just leaving the apothecary with their purchases. After a bit a begging, Ron had convinced his mom that they could shop on their own for school things in Diagon Alley, leaving her with Ginny (to Ginny's displeasure) to shop with. They had only gotten their potions' ingredients since they been there since 11:30. They were walking over to the bookstore when Harry stopped suddenly making Hermione who was behind him bump into his back.

"Umph! Harry! What's the big i-!"

"Look!" he said as he pointed in front of him.

Both Ron and Hermione followed his finger to see a teenaged blonde girl on the ground trying to hastily put her books and clothes that were strewn around her stooping body back into the bags hanging off her arms. Seeing the sight, Hermione looked at her watch and silently counted the seconds before…

"Come on… let's help her." Harry said, already walking over to the girl.

'Hm… six seconds. Must be a new record. It's usually later.' Hermione thought as she put her arm down and followed her raven-haired friend.

Ron of course was against it. "Come on, Harry!" he whined lightly. "I want to get this shopping over with so we can play quidditch afterward. And beside she looks like she has a handle on it anyway." The girl struggling to put her books properly in the bag was proving the exact opposite. Harry didn't stop though Ron did and Hermione did as well.

They watched as Harry picked up one of her books and put it in front of the girl's face.

Harry gained a shocked face as she looked into the girl's familiar sapphire orbs. The girl's eyes widened as well as the pointed at each other's faces from where they crouched and said in unison, "You!" in surprised voices.

"You're that girl from the Order." Harry whispered.

"You're that guy from the Order." The girl whispered back.

The girl turned back to her book, if only to turn her eyes away from his and put it in one of her bags. "Thanks." She mumbled as Harry continued to help her with her books. A few minutes later they were finished and they both stood from the grounds. They girl was about to walk away when Harry said in a hurried voice, "Wait!" The girl stopped in her tracks and turned towards him. That's when he noticed what the girl was wearing. He strangely felt kind of awkward, him wearing a simple teal t-shirt and jeans and she wearing all those layers, warmers and, for some reason, a scarf. It was not very hot outside but on the other hand it wasn't very cold either nor windy.

Harry ignored that small detail as he said, "I never got your name the last time we _met_. What is it?"

The girl seemed to consider him for a second before answering with, "What's yours?" she said with a sly grin.

Harry gulped already knowing what the outcome of telling his name would be, "Harry… Harry Potter."

Surprisingly, the girl didn't even spare a glance to his scar or show any sign of recognizing the name. She still held her gaze with his as they spoke.

The girl smiled faintly and said, "Cascilla Rose." as she stuck out a hand, "Pleased to meet ya." They shook hand briefly before letting go.

Harry gave her friendly smile before saying, "Hey, you want to meet my friends? They're just over there." He pointed over his shoulder to Hermione and Ron.

The girl seemed to look apprehensive at first, turning her gaze back to the Leaky Cauldron a few times, "I don't know if I should…" she said slowly. After a pause, she said, "Okay."

Harry walked over to Hermione and Ron who were waiting (in Ron's case) impatiently and curiously as they openly stared at Cascilla who had followed him.

"You guys, this Cascilla Rose. Cascilla, this is Hermione and Ron: my best friends."

Cascilla shook both of their hand, "Nice to meet ya." she said absentmindedly as she looked at the Leaky Cauldron wall again.

"What are you wearing?" Ron blurted out rudely. Hermione and Harry glared at him when they thought Cascilla wasn't looking.

Cascilla looked down at herself before looking back at Ron with a confused look, "What do ya mean?"

"I mean what's with that outfit? It's the middle of summer and you're wearing warmers and a scarf. What are you? Allergic to the sun." Ron seemed to find it funny and laughed raunchily, but all it earned him was a light punch in the arm from Harry. "Ow! Harry that was that for?" he said he rubbed his injured arm.

"Shut up!" Harry grounded out through his teeth. (Hehehe… Harry's got a cruuuuuush… Harry's got a cruuuuush!) (too obvious?)

Cascilla seemed to ignore them both to answer Ron's first question. "I like wearing clothes like this. Always have and always will." She said with smile.

Hermione butted in with a question of her own. "But what's with the make-up and colors. I mean red and black are so… _dark_."(_Good_ loser!) She said as she continued staring at her clothes.

"Excuse me! I'm a punk rocker (Punk rocker… Punk… Rocker)for you're information and red and black happen to be my favorite colors!"

"You're a punk rocker?!" Hermione shouted sounding absolutely scandalized.

"Yes I am!"

Harry in order to diffuse the impending argument about to take place tried to change the subject, "Ahem… so… Cascilla… why do you have so many books? What are they for?" 'Stupid question but anything to stop those two.' Harry thought.

Cascilla looked towards him in surprise as if almost forgetting he was there before answering,  
Oh. They're schoolbooks. I start Hogwarts in a week or so."

"What do you mean 'starting Hogwarts'? How old are you?" Hermione asked skeptically. Harry was wondering the same thing. Cascilla looked their age, which meant she would probably go to her fourth or fifth year at Hogwarts. Why would she be just now starting school?

"Oh well… I'm fifteen. I've been home schooled til now so I'll be starting in my fifth year in Hogwarts."

"What a coincidence. We're starting our fifth year t-" Harry started to say before being interrupted by Hermione.

"_You_ were home schooled?" she said rather snootily. Harry looked at her incredulously. 'What is her problem? Why is she acting like this?' Harry thought.

"Uh… yeah… I was." Cascilla looked like she was feeling the bad vibe coming from the Hermione as well.

"Ya know, wearing too much make-up can make you look like a scarlet woman. You might want to watch that." Ron said cheekily.

Harry was about to give him another punch to the arm when they heard a person yelling, "Cascilla! Cascilla where are you?"

Cascilla looked towards the Leaky Cauldron again. Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed her gaze to see to their surprise…

Professor Snape!! (E-gad)

"I'm right here Uncle Sev! I'll be there in less than a moment! Scout's honor!" She yelled over the chattering people, gaining a few stares. She put two fingers to her forehead in mock salute to which Snape rolled his eyes and he disappeared behind the Leaky Cauldron enchanted wall again.

Cascilla turned towards their shocked faces, "Let you in on a secret," she put her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered, "I've never been a scout." She chuckled a little before sobering up quickly.

"Snape is your uncle?!" Ron yelled appallingly with surprised revulsion written across his face.

Looking like she didn't notice his tone of voice or really care, Cascilla replied with an innocent, "Well… he's not really my uncle. He's my godfather and I just call him Uncle Sev, do you know him?"

"Do we know him!? Of course we do! He's the most slimiest, most greasiest, most evil teacher you could ever have!" Ron yelled.

"He's the potions' professor of Hogwarts." Hermione clarified.

"And he hates me with a passion." Harry finished.

Cascilla didn't look at all shocked as if she had expected that they would say that. "Yeah he told me that some students would say that about him and I'm not saying I don't believe you. I just don't really care. See you at school, Harry, and thanks again for the help. Hermione. Ron." She smiled at Harry and nodded politely to Hermione and Ron before walking away to the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry turned towards his friends once Cascilla was out of earshot, a glare apparent on his face from his friends' behavior.

"That was really rude you guys. What is you guy's problems?" he said.

"Come on mate," Ron yelled as they walked to the Borgin and Burkes. "Her godfather is Snape! The guy who had hated your very existence since the very first moment he saw you! She's probably a death eater in training or something."

Harry was shocked into silence before regaining his voice, "Ron! What sense does that make?" His dropped a few decibels when they entered the book store, "Just because her godfather is Snape doesn't mean that she is evil! She was actually very nice. It was _you_ two who were being rude."

"I have to agree with Ron, Harry. I think we should stay away from her." Hermione was the one to say this, which really shocked Harry. Hermione was usually the voice of reason in the group and now she was agreeing with Ron about exiling a girl just because of who her godfather is.

"Are you saying that we shouldn't talk to her just because of who her godfather is? Hermione that's very prejudiced, even for you."

Hermione looked down at the ground in uncertain before replying with, "Well… it's not just because her godfather is Professor Snape… actually the reason I think we shouldn't see her is because she's a… punk rocker."

"What!" Harry whispered loudly. "That's it!"

"Harry, you don't understand. I used to have punk rockers at my old grade school before I went to Hogwarts. They're all nothing but bad news. They're almost as bad as goths! All they do all day is smoke, skip classes, or not go to school all together. They vandalize things and beat up kids just for fun. They disrespect authority-!"

"So do the twins!" Harry shouted.

"There's a difference, the twins play harmless little pranks but still stay behind the line of respecting authority. They've never badmouthed any teachers to their faces. But punk rockers do that and then some. And I doubt that girl had been home schooled if she is a punk rocker. She was probably expelled from her first magical school and is going to this one just because Snape is a teacher there. She's no good and I don't think we should hang around with that sort of riff-raff!"

"But Hermione, didn't you say that Ebony was a punk rocker as well. And you like _her_." Harry said in irritation.

"I said she's _dresses_ punk. Punk is a style of dress, Harry. Nothing more." (Can I hit her… Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!?) And with that she walked away to look for and buy her books.

Ron looked at Harry as well and said, "She's right, ya know. And besides she dresses like she's the sister of Looney Lovegood for Merlin's sake. Definitely a person that we _don't_ want to mixed up with." Ron then turned to get his own books.

Harry looked at each direction that his friends had gone. 'I'm just gonna have to work at. Cascilla seemed really nice. She could be a very good friend no matter whom or what she is.' He thought as he joined his friend to shop for their schoolbooks.

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"Thank you, Connel," Severus sneered at the senile old man, "That was a very… enlightening lecture conversation about frogs' eyes. Now if you excuse me I have to take my charge to get some dinner-."

"Oh that's nice Severus!" The elder stated cheerily. He looked around the area behind Severus and then all around himself. "Where is your charge? I would love to meet them!"

As Severus looked around in shock as he heard those words, it struck him like a bludger across the head; Cascilla was nowhere to be seen!

"If you would excuse me, Connel. I have to find my charge." He said hurriedly, leaving the bewildered elder behind. He looked around the entire bar and as he saw no sign of the girl he started feeling an emotion that he never thought he would feel for anyone but himself creep into his very soul.

Panic.

He tried to hide his frantic search under a cool façade, but inside he was a wreck. He was secretly praying that she was safe and just wondered off somewhere.

He reentered Diagon Alley to see if she was still there and yelled her name to see if she would answer. A few moments later she answered back. She was a few feet away right outside of the pet store and was talking to few children her age but since their backs were to him, he couldn't tell who they were.

He suddenly felt relief wash over him, his panic replace instantly by irritation and annoyance. Cascilla was here the entire time! What the blood hell took her so long?! She nearly gave him a heart attack from worrying about her.

The girl looked fine and seemed to be enjoying herself as she responded back saying that she would be with him shortly. He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes as she saluted to him. 'I seriously doubt a girl like her was ever a scout.' He thought as he turned on his heel and walked back into the tavern, his sneer deepened as he waited beside the secret passage.

The girl entered a few minutes later carrying her bags. As soon as she stepped inside, he started in on her instantaneously.

"What took you so long, girl?" Severus snarled, obviously angered (and secretly shaken) by the girl's sudden disappearance.

Cascilla considered him for a moment before turning away from him and saying, "Chill, Uncle Sev. I tripped and all of my stuff fell out. No big." She scoffed.

"It is too 'a big' young lady! Would if someone had snatched you up! Don't take Diagon Alley as just an innocent little delight! It is also full of dangerous people who could hurt you!"

"Oh whatever dude! There's nothing that I can't handle with a little snap of the fingers here and a little punch there-."

"I don't care what you can do! Don't ever worry me like that again!"

"Oh like you really care! The only reason you took me shopping is because I'm the daughter of your late best friend-!"

"That's not true!" Severus snapped. Noticing his temper rising, Cascilla seemed to subdue considerably as she took a step back and looked down at the wooden floor. Her body tensed up, which struck Severus by surprise and he instantly composed in an attempt to calm the distressed teenager.

To not attract anymore attention than they already had from their quarrel, he grabbed her arm and dragged her upstairs. He opened a random room door and pushed Cascilla inside before going in himself. He directed her to an empty bed and sat her down beside him.

She still would not look at him, was shaking lightly as well and as he sat her down she started to hug herself. Now Severus was really worried about his goddaughter. He cast a silencing charm on the room before speaking to Cascilla.

"Cascilla…?" No answer. "Cascilla… Ebony? What is wrong?" Still no answer and she still had not even glanced at him.

Growing somewhat impatient by her silence, Severus took her chin in his hand and pulled it up to make her look at him. And what she saw shocked him.

Her eyes had somehow reverted to their red hue, but they were clouded over with fear and something else he couldn't discern. She was looking through his head as if she were in trance.

"I'll ask you again. What is wrong, child?" Severus repeated softly.

His voice seemed to finally get through to the girl as she appeared to break out of her stupor and focus on him, the fear still evident in her eyes. It took another moment to register in her head what he had asked and who had said it.

"It's… it's nothing. Just forget about…" she said as she looked away and was about to stand.

But Severus wouldn't let her get off that easily. He grabbed her arm again so she wouldn't get away and then asked again. "What is going on?"

"Nothing." She urged, wanting this conversation to end immediately.

"It has to be something for it to put you in such a state. Now what is-?"

"It's nothing okay!" Ebony yelled in earnest, tears brimming over her eyelids, the fear in her eyes replaced with anger and pain as she stared at Severus. "Just leave it alone!" She wrenched her arms out of his grip and ran out of the room before he could object.

Severus sat there and gazed at the door that she had left through; his mind in heavy thought over what could have the cause of his goddaughter's pain. Why would she be fearful all of a sudden when all they were doing was arguing? 'I'll give her her space and leave it alone for now; but if it happens again. I **will** speak with her about it.' He stood up from the bed, it mildly squeaking from the loss of weight, and walking out of the room.

As he walked downstairs he saw, he saw Ebony already sitting at the bar talking to Tom, the bartender, probably ordering her lunch.

He sat beside her without a word to her and ordered his food as well. As Tom left they sat in silence until Ebony couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry." She muttered. Severus turned his head to see that she wasn't even looking at him but looking in the opposite direction and knowing her, she probably had a scowl on her face.

"I shouldn't have worried you." She continued.

Severus studied the back of her golden head before putting a hand on her shoulder, making her turn towards him. As she looked at him, he noticed that her eyes had turned back to blue.

He sighed and said, "You are not the only one at fault. I'll admit that I was bit harsh just now.

But I will tell you that I do care for you deeply. And not because you are the daughter of a lost friend, as you have already said you are your own person, but because I am your

Godfather, therefore, it is my duty to care for you and keep you safe no matter what. You really worried me when I noticed that you were gone. You're reason behind your absence was plausible, but still, you had worried me greatly."

When he had finished he just stared at Ebony to see what her reaction would be. She had been listening intently, but as he spoke further her eyes had moved to his chest to avoid looking at him.

"Cascilla…?" he said quietly.

"I know okay and I said I was sorry. Can we just… drop it now?" Cascilla whined. She took her chin out of his hand turned back to the bar.

Severus was going to say more, but that's when Tom returned with their lunches.

They ate in relative silence until Severus decided to ask another question. "Who were those people you were talking to? I didn't see them."

Ebony looked at him through the corner of her eye before looking back at her sandwich. "Just some students of Hogwarts…" She had answered so vaguely that Severus started to wonder if the students were people he wouldn't want her to talk to.

"Did you get their names?" he asked slyly.

"Yes." She said simply as she went back to eating.

"Who were they?" Severus slightly irritated by her averting his questions.

"Oh… um… I think they were Harry, Hermione, and Ron." She said quickly as she went back to eating immediately after she finished.

Severus tightened his grip around his fork, knowing exactly who she had been talking to (even if she hadn't addressed their last names). He hid his irritation from her but his voice was still tight when he spoke again. "That's… fine. Were they nice?"

Ebony looked at him as if he had grown horns. "Uh… yeah… they were… _nice_…" She said slowly. "Harry helped me pick up my things and then he introduced me to his friends." She gave him a nervous smile.

Severus calmed at that. 'Harry bloody Potter helping others? Hm… I guess all things are possible.' He thought as he finished his salad.

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When they finished their lunch and paid the bill, they decided to finish shopping. To Severus' hidden surprise, Cas indeed already had a wand; she just chose not to bring it sometimes. She carried it in her bag (to Severus' disapproval) in a cushioned case so as not to jostle it.

After going to the apothecary for potions' ingredients (plus a whole lot more that Severus' thought she should buy for his class), Severus said that she should get a familiar for school so they stopped by the pet store. Severus, greatly disliking the smell of the place stood outside while Cas walked in by herself. The clerk desk was to the right wall being seated by a scruffy looking man clipping an owl's talons. She walked further into the store she was surrounded by owl cages. 'Severus' said that an owl is a good choice, but there's no harm in looking around a bit.' She smirked at her logic as she walked aisle after aisle. She walked passed all the birds, cats, rats, mice, frogs cages until she reached the back of the store where there was the least light.

'I guess that's it…' she thought with a bored sigh. 'I'll get an owl I guess… and maybe a nice black cat…'

She was about to turn around to walk back when she heard it. _Ha! Just another stupid human. We can be more useful than the birds with the small brains, in yet no one wants to have us as familiars. This human is just another gullible sap for foolish rumors_.

Cas stopped in her tracks at the sound. 'A snake?!' she turned towards the direction the words came from and walked briskly toward it. She looked around until she saw it.

It was a snake that was easily five feet long. It was in a cage and had its coils around wrapped around a log branch. It was the only one and it was in the very last row of the store as if was meant to be hidden from customers.

Cas walked towards the snake and kneeled so that she was eye level with it. Were you talking about me?

The snake cocked his head slightly in surprise at her understanding and talking back to it. You're a snake speaker?

Yes I am. Cas responded, smiling dejectedly as she remember how she had learned of her ability.

**Flashback**

"Come out! Come out wherever you are, ya little freak."

"Yeah you can't hide from us forever, Riddle!"

Ten-year-old Ebony ran as fast as she could from the voices, dodging branches and jumping over logs. Her lungs were burning from the exertion and her legs held scrapes from endless bushes, but she wouldn't stop because she knew that if she did pain was the thing to instantly follow.

She made the mistake of looking behind her to see if they were close to her and tripped horrible over a stem. She shrieked in pain as her ankle twisted and she fell to the ground in heap. Not even a few second later, her bully ran up to her. Ebony sat up to look at her attackers fear written all over her face and tears flowing down her cheeks.

The biggest guy, Tarou, otherwise known as walked in front of the other four guys that surrounded her, a malevolent grin on his face. "Well look what we have here; the devil's child in a pickle."

Ebony widened at the name. "That's right. I heard Sister Keiko say that you were Satan's child with those freaky eyes of yours."

Ebony looked down at her knees, fists clenching at the grass beside her. "That's not true." she whispered.

The boy kicked her hard in the stomach, making her fall on her back. She grasped he middle gasping for breathe and coughing.

The group laughed at her pain as more tears fell from her eyes.

Tarou took a long piece of wood from one of the boys' hands and held it over Ebony's chest.

His eyes glinted as Ebony stared at the wood with fright in her red orbs.

He raised it above his head and said to his comrades, "Hey, you guy want to hear a _riddle_?" They snickered stupidly at the lame joke just to not get Tarou's wrath. Tarou was the biggest and dumbest bully at the orphanage so when he made a joke, no matter how stupid it was, you had to laugh or get a punch in the face. He may have seemed a dense angel in front of the grown-ups but he was the exact opposite when they were gone.

"Okay then. Here's one." He laughed as he brought the wood on Ebony middle, causing the poor girl to cry out in pain. That hit initiated the beating that Ebony knew was to come.

They kicked and punched her in every place they could reach; using makeshift weapons that they had gotten from the playground, classroom, and dormitories. Ebony was bordering on passing out from her suffering but every time she almost reached it another hit to her battered body woke her. Ebony knew that if they continued, she would surely die. She had no more strength to scream for help and knew that they were too far in the forest for anyone to hear them. She closed her eyes as if to hide from her attackers. This was worse than she had ever gotten for sure. Something hot leaked out of her mouth and she knew it was blood.

Then she heard a pain-filled scream that wasn't hers for once. She opened her eyes weakly to see that Tarou was on the ground holding a bleeding arm against his chest; his eyes screwed as he moaned in pain. She heard another scream and moved as far as her eyes could to see a snake biting another boy on the arm the wrap its body around his middle squeezing him. The boy wet his pants and fell to a dead faint and the snake slithered away from him. Before the snake could do anymore damage to anyone else, the rest of the group ran away (Tarou still clutching his arm and the snoozing boy being dragged) with their tails between their legs, screaming bloody murder as they went. They left Ebony behind of course.

Ebony stared the snake, trying to keep the snake in her sights as much as she could. This snake was going to kill her… she just knew it. When it slithered closer to her, she found her voice in her need to live.

Please don't hurt me. she said in a shallow whisper; she could raise it any further.

The snake stopped in its tracks… furrows as she said those words. You're a speaker. It began to move toward her again but at a slower pace.

Ebony eyes widened at understanding the snake. What d…do mean b…by that? she visibly tensed her body as the snake licked her face.

Calm down snake child. I just saved you from a violent death death. Why would I want to hurt you?

Ebony tried to move any part of her body, but all she met was agony. She knew at least a rib and a leg were broken from her ordeal; she just hoped they headed as fast as they usually do (for her anyway). She whimpered as more tears escape her eyes. The snake licked them away.

Don't move you stupid child! the snake admonished.

Thank you… Ebony whispered.

Don't talk either snake child. You are suffering too much. Go to sleep and all will be well when you wake. The snake slithered up her body and wrapped her as much as it could around her body and settled its head on her shoulder.

Ebony knew that she should have been freaked out of her mind. There was a snake not only talking to her but also wrapped around her body. It could easily kill her if it wanted to and she couldn't exactly protect herself now. But for some reason it felt right… to be talking to the snake and for it to protect her. It was as if she felt that it was natural; for a snake to speak to you and for you to speak back to it. It felt apart of her somehow and for some reason… she liked it.

She closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless, the snake strangely calming her restless mind.

End of Flashback

When she next awoke she the snake was gone, but for some weird reason she was fully healed. Okay maybe not that weird… to her anyway. This always seemed to happen when she was in serious injury from a beating. That fact made her prone to more beatings since that was considered "freaky" to the other kids. It wasn't until later on her life that she found out it was her magic that was helping her.

She could've gone back to the orphanage to let them know that she was okay, but she knew better. They wouldn't have cared if she had lived or died. They wouldn't have cared if she was safe. Knowing the staff, once they found out that she had gone most of the night they would have sent to her room. The other children would have beaten her if they saw that she had healed so quickly. She didn't want to go through that… not again. So she did the first thing she could think of.

She ran further into the forest and never looked back. It was a while before she reached the city and then she started her life as the lowest of the low, a street urchin as _they_ call them. There she was with people who were her equal in status. She didn't talk to anyone or make friends; she was just… there…

Cascilla shook her head of her memories and focused once again the snake in front of her. It was a beautiful thing; its scales a midnight black with white stripes on the back.

Cas smiled friendly at it and asked, _What is your name?_

_I have no name. These humans killed by nest mother before I was hatched. I refuse to take the name that they have given me. It is absolutely ludicrous._ It said with a feminine voice.

_What was it?_

_Zebra._

Cas stifled a laugh at that one. 'Wow… just wow…'

The snake certainly didn't appreciate the laughter and turned its head away and tucked it under one of its coils.

Cas sobered immediately at angering it and said, _I'm sorry. I should've have laughed._

The snake didn't answer and just pretended to sleep. Cascilla frowned at that and said, _How about this? Would you like to be my familiar? I am in need of one since I am starting school. I promise if you let me have you, I'll give you a respectable name. One worthy of a gorgeous snake such as yourself._ 'That's it… stroke its ego a little.' She thought.

Cas waited with a baited breath.

The snake uncovered its head and looked at her. _Are you sure you wish to do that? Many in this society believe that snake or evil conniving creature that should be eradicated. Would you really want to go through the burden of that over your shoulder?_ The snake said mockingly.

Cas smirked at that and replied, _Yeah. Whatever. I hear about that all the time. I speak snake so what's so damn wrong with having one. I really don't give fuck what others say about it. So will you come with me?_

The snake seemed to be in thought before asking, _If I was yours, what would you name me?_

Cas fell in silence as she thought of the answer after a minute of thought, _I would name you Velcora. _To most people it would be impossible to tell of a snakes gender for, but for a snake speaker like Cas, it was all to too obvious that this one was female.

The snake succumbed to silence as she thought of her choices. Cascilla waited patiently for her to respond. The snake spoke up again as she said, _Such an usual name. I don't think I have ever met another snake with a name like that. Although that's not saying much since I have lived in this store all my life and have only seen a few snakes._

Cas smiled at that statement and replied with, _Well, I thought you deserved something a bit less conventional. Name's starting with a 'S' is so played out so I tried something different. What do you think?_

The snake thought for a moment before saying sharply, _You shall have the honor of being my master, human. But one bit of disrespect and I shall leave._

Cas smirked at the warning and said, _Oh you don't have to worry about that._ And with that she picked up its big cage and hauled all the way back to the front of the store where the cashier stood. She put the cage lightly on the table but still it caused a loud pounding on the desk that brought the man attention. He looked at her with watery eyes and then at the cage where the sake slithered to attention. The man looked back at Cas warily before saying, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Nope. I want to buy this snake. How much is it?" Cas said, already brandishing her card.

The man grunted and mumbled, "You don't want this. I'm sure a young woman like you would like a nice cat, very intelligent company. Or maybe a owl, dead useful ya know." He said as he tried to steer her away from the cage to the owl section.

Cas weaved her arm out of weak grip and turned back to the snake cage. "No. I think I would rather have this. I think a snake would be a great familiar for school."

The man ran a hand down his face in what could be interpreted as frustration. "I'm not sure you would want one these things. They're very bad luck, ya know." He said with a toothy (or lack thereof) grin that made Cas twitch involuntarily and suppress an eye roll.

'So now they're bad luck. What's next? They contract disease?'

She smirked smartly and said, "I don't believe in luck." She walked back to the desk put her hand on top of the cage in a definite choice of actions. "I want the snake. I'm willing to pay any price." She flashed her card to make her point and held it in front of his face.

The man followed it with his eyes before giving a heaving sigh and mumbling, "Thirty galleons. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Deal."

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AN: This was going to be so much longer but I'm already late enough as it is. Summoner's Anguish is becoming more popular than I thought it would be so I'm working on that next. Sorry it took so long to finish this chapter. So much was going on that I couldn't finish it. But now that soccer season is over I think I can get more done. Well Cya. Until next time.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I know I know. I'm dead. I haven't updated anything in a while. My computer had been tripping earlier in the summer and it caused me to accidentally delete all my files. My fanfic files anyway. And I had a back up file but it was at school and I wasn't able to get to it until soccer preseason and then my computer officially shut down for good so there was no way to do any writing until school started again so here I am. I probably could have done some prep writing before but I had a summer job and soccer preseason to do so… no way. Also Junior year is keeping right busy so that's why this came so late.**

**Also after giving some thought and getting tired of changing it when I thought it wasn't appropriate size, Velcora has been shortened to about 4 feet instead of 5. I just thought that there was no way that Ebony would be able to get away with carrying a snake that big. Velcora is a long and slim snake, not too big like a boa and not pathetically small either. Kind of like a regular garter snake width and 4 feet long. I don't know what breed she is so don't ask me.**

Disclaimer: I do not Harry and company. Although I do own Ebony and the band so that's something, right?

"Talk"

'Thought'

$_Parseltongue_$

**Ebony**

**Chapter 5**

Cascilla walked out of the store with her new purchases wrapped loosely around her arm with its head resting on her shoulder. Velcora slept peacefully as they walked toward Severus who was sitting on a bench across the path, her other purchases sitting at his feet. Severus had looked up to see what she had bought and paled visibly at what she was carrying. As the teenager walked toward him, many people noticed the snake and either stopped to stare at the spectacle or immediately hurried away from her.

She stopped before her godfather, who rose quickly, simply speechless as he stared at the black and white snake. She smiled smugly at his reaction and seemed to be daring him to say anything.

"You like it?" she said as she petted the snake's head leisurely. She could hear Velcora make a noise of approval as she continued her ministrations. "I saw it in the very back of the shop and I just had to buy it."

At those words, Severus miraculously was able to find his voice, "I don't believe Professor Dumbledore would allow it in school-"

"He will… if he wants me to go to his school. I won't go without it." And with that final statement she began to pick up some of her bags, being careful not to jostle Velcora too much, and started walking back to the inn. She stopped momentarily, "Are you coming or not?" Severus could do nothing but sigh and help her with the last of her bags.

"Do you need help bringing them back to your apartment?" he said with a defeated tone, knowing that nothing he said would change her mind. He would have one hell of a time trying to convince Dumbledore to let her have it. It was like she was purposely trying to start a fuss.

…That's most likely what she was doing.

Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "No need." She reached into her bag and pulled out a slender black case. It clicked open and inside protected by satin red cushion. Was a wand; her wand.

It was a nice lacquer-ware 5 ft black shaft and with a dark red handle. She pulled it out and waved a silent spell over the bags, shrinking them. Severus thought momentarily of why she didn't just do that wandlessly but then realized that it would attract more attention than they needed if she was spotted doing it. He almost smacked his head for thinking such a thing.

_Almost_… Severus Snape would never be seen doing that.

"Well, see ya in a week." She started for the exit but then Severus remembered that he had to give her something. He took out a slip of paper his robe. "Wait. You'll need this for the train."

Cascilla took it from his hand and saw that it was train ticket. It looked pretty much normal except for the platform number that was 9 ¾. She looked up at incredulously and said, "Is this some sort of joke? There's no such thing as a ¾ platform."

"You'll see…" Severus said cryptically.

Cascilla rolled her eyes at him before exiting.

Severus walked into his room of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He barely got a chance to unwind from his stressful day before his fireplace lighted up with green flames and Dumbledore's aged face showed up in the inferno.

"Oh Severus. I see you're back. Could you see me up in my office momentarily?" His face disappeared right after, leaving no room for protest.

Severus sighed before walking right out of his door that he had just entered two seconds ago.

He made it to the headmaster's office and walked in without knocking. "Ah Severus! Have a seat."

He looked around to see that the rest of the staff was present. Well the heads anyway. He sat in an empty chair, waiting to find out what this meeting was about so that he could go to the privacy of his dungeons and unwinding with a nice headache potion.

"So," the Headmaster began as he looked at Severus, "How was your outing with Miss Riddle? Or should I say: Miss Rose?"

"It was fine. I must say that she is a rather… unusual young girl."

"I see… anything out of the ordinary happen?" Dumbledore asked. He leaned forward onto his desk with an inquisitive twinkle in his eye.

"Actually… there is one thing that I wanted to talk to you about," Severus sighed tiredly as he paused to think of a way to put this across. "She had decided to buy a familiar for the school year. Now when I let her go in by herself I expected her to buy a black cat or a owl, but I should have known that was a bit too predictable for a girl like her. She had decided to buy a… ahem… a snake as her familiar." He mumbled the last part to avoid the inevitable objections that were to begin. His wishes were against him however as McGonagall,who was sitting next to him, had heard every word.

"A snake!" This exclamation caused a lot of panic amongst the other heads as they were aware who Cascilla actually was. The spawn of Voldemort having something that had always been a symbol of her father's terror and destruction as a familiar! Dumbledore held back a shudder at the thought.

"Enough!" Albus yelled to silence the shouting. Everyone quieted instantly to look at Dumbledore to see how he would react to this news. Dumbledore sighed tiredly before asking, "Now Severus… did you tell her our rule on having a familiar outside of the kind requested on the form?"

"I did. I stated to her that you would not allow a snake into Hogwarts. And she so eloquently replied with, 'He will if he wants me to go.' She said she wouldn't go without it." Severus smirked inwardly as he watched Dumbledore have an internal battle with himself on whether he should let this one snake in. There would be calls of favoritism (which couldn't be farthest from the truth) if anyone were to find out that Ebony had a snake. Then there would be calls that Dumbledore was "endangering" his students with such a beast prowling around the property.

There was silence for about five minutes as the Heads watched the Headmaster reach his decision. Finally he announced with no small amount of regret, "If she will not go to Hogwarts without _it_, then I have no choice but to allow it," This caused the other teachers except for Severus to protest loudly at his decision, but with stern glance they all silenced themselves. "But Severus I want you tell her when she arrives here to try to keep this confidential. We don't want a widespread school panic, now do we? It is not to leave her room, let alone her common room, understood?"

"Yes Albus I will." Severus replied. Sensing that the meeting had ended, he stood from his chair stiffly and exited the room, his cloak billowing behind him. The others however still stay seated as they thought there were still some issues to discuss.

"Albus," McGonagall began, "How can you allow this?"

"I have no choice Minerva. My hands are tied. We need her here and away from Voldemort as much as possible before he realizes that she is truly alive. For all we know, he most possibly already does. If she wants to have a snake as a pet for school, then I'm going to let her, just as long as it doesn't cause any trouble."

"Do you think that she can speak… _it_?" Flitwick asked.

"Well, her being his daughter, I would have to say that she does with certainty. It is after all hereditary from parent to child. We just have to hope for the best."

Cascilla jumped off her skateboard as she walked into the King Cross at 10 o'clock in the morning. Unusual to her usual appearance she gave off the semblance of a normal teenage girl, wearing a simple pair of dark blue jeans, long sleeved black shirt, black and white sneakers, and black cap on her head. With the colder weather, she decided to wear a thin black jacket. For once there was no reason for anyone to stare at her. Well… except for the snake that was wrapped loosely around her neck. That garnered a few stares. Though most of the people in there could easily be recognized as muggles so none of them freaked out as badly as a wizard or witch would do if they saw Velcora. She went to the reception office to get a trolley and unshrunk her things inside of a bathroom before loading her things.

Cascilla reached into her pocket taking out the ticket that said in big bold letters "Platform 9 ¾". Cascilla rolled her eyes as she began to walk around looking for this "imaginary" platform. She still couldn't believe that such a platform could ever exist without a muggle noticing the strange number and wanting to know what it was. She walked back and forth through the train station looking for said platform and still bubcus. She even asked a cross station guard and all she had gotten was a "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Move along you little troublemaker." 'What a dick…' Ebony thought irritably.

She looked at her watch and saw that it was now 10:40 so that meant she only had ten minutes before the trains left without her if she didn't find it in time. She was starting to kind of panic at this thought…

'Dammit! Why couldn't Uncle Sev have just told me where the platform was! It's almost like it's hidden somewhere…' Cascilla's eyes widened at this thought as she slapped a hand onto to her forehead at her stupidity, "Duh!" she yelled eliciting a few stares from people who passed her. She grinned sheepishly at them before walking briskly toward platform nine and ten.

What she thought was that if this platform was between nine and ten that would mean that it would literally be between platforms nine and ten. She look at the column that had a "10" on it. '9 ¾ is closer to ten than nine.' She thought. She moved her trolley in front of the column and took a claming breathe before beginning to run head-on into column. 'I hope I'm right about this or I'm screwed.' She thought as she closed her eyes. A few seconds after she realized she should have ran into brick, she opened her eyes to see a copper train standing before her, billowing white smoke from its spout.

"Oh yeah. Am I smart or what…?" she murmured to herself as a smirk crossed her face. She dragged her things onto the train and into a compartment on the last cart; fortunately there was no one there to bug her. She pushed her trunk into the overhead bin and sat down, rearranging Velcora's position from around her neck to curl in her lap in a spiral. She looked out the window to watch other students who would soon be her classmates be kissed and smothered by their parents before being helped onto the train. The sight made her think of her mother and how she would kiss her head before she sent her off to school. Of course at that time she had been known as Keiko Kumagi, her mother having to lie on her application form so as not to be found out.

Velcora, seeming to sense her owner's distress, raised her head and climbed up to lick the edge of Cas' chin to get her attention. Cascilla felt the soft silk tongue tickle her chin and looked down Velcora. Realizing her intentions, she smiled and petted the snake softly on its head. Velcora made a sound of approval as she rested her head back onto Cas' lap.

Not much time had passed before a student opened the compartment without a single knock, obviously thinking that the compartment was empty and was most certainly incorrect in that assumption. The boy looked about 15 years of age, had dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. As he sighted Cascilla sitting in the room, a strange glint came to his eyes and he smiled, "Whoops, sorry. I didn't think anyone was in here." He seemed to pause in thought before he said, "Hey, can I-"

"No. Go away." Cas interrupted tersely at being disturbed. She knew she was being rude and saving bas impression, but she did not feel like having company or talking either.

The boy looked shocked at her answer and seemed to feel a bit awkward at the brisk rejection. "Oh… well… okay then…" his eyes seemed to scan the room for something to look at besides Cas' aggravated face. His eyes settled on the thing that was coiled on her lap and it took him only a moment to realize what that object was.

He spazzed in random panic as he yelled, "Snakes are not allowed at Hogwarts! It's against the rules!"

Cas smirked at the boy's expression as she gently stroked Velcora's scales. The snake hissed in appreciation, but the boy could not tell and looked about ready to piss his pants.

"I'm pretty sure that the Headmaster will allow it." _If he wants me to come anyway. I'm __**not**__ leaving Velcora behind._

"Well I don't think he will. Snakes aren't allowed because they eat other people pets-"

"Velcora would never do that. As long as I say not to, that is." Cas' smile grew as she watched the boy's face turn green at her words.

He started to sweat and simply stared at the "menacing" four-foot long snake. It began to move but instead of snapping at him, it simply slid a slow path up Cas' arm and then wrapped its body around her neck again. The snake licked her cheek before resting leisurely on her right shoulder.

"Um… I-I have to g-go now…" And those were his final words before high-tailing it out of there.

Cas waited only a moment before she burst out in hysterical laughter.

$_Was it really that funny?_$ Velcora asked as Cas began to calm down. She could practically feel Velcora roll her eyes at her mistress' antics. The train gave slight jolt as it began to move forward.

$_Oh come on Cora,_$ Cas wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled at her snake. $_Did you see the look on his face when he saw you! He looked green as grass!_$

$_Cora…?_$ Velcora inquired, moving away from the conversation slightly.

$_What? You don't like it? It's a nickname. Short for Velcora._$

$_I know what it is?! I wasn't born yesterday. And I do like it. It is acceptable._$

$_Alright then._$

Velcora moved back to the subject at hand. $_Do you think everyone will react that way when they see me?_$ She was far from self conscious of what the other human students would think of her, but she didn't want to cause a scene unlike her restless mistress.

$_I don't think so. But if they do, so what? I'm not gonna leave you behind just because people want to be pussies about a simple snake. Those stereotypes need to be left in the dust once and for all!_$

Velcora chose not to respond and contented herself to simply lay back in the nest she had made out the young girl's lap. Cas began to rub Velcora's back leisurely and the rest of the train continued in silence.

"Firs' Yeas! Firs' Yeas Here!"

Cascilla cautiously stepped off the train, and as the cool night air hit her, she wrapped her jacket closer around her figure. She still had neglected to wear her uniform so as other student walked by her to the carriages, she was looked at strangely but otherwise ignored.

She jumped slightly when another bellowing "Firs' Yeas Here!" broke through the crowd. She looked up to find that the source was an overly large man, waving all the first year student towards him to the small boats at the dock.

This was her first year here, but she was far from being a first year student. She looked at the boats for a few seconds, wondering whether she should join the little eleven-year-olds. But in the last second when she saw other children who appeared to be closer to her age going another direction. She voted to follow them.

She tagged along until they got to a bunch of carriages. As she got closer, she saw that they were more than just carriages. There was something in front of them. To her they resembled horse, but more like horse from a zombie movie that she had seen with the band a couple years ago. They had no coat of fur, just blackened skin that stretched over their bones in a dilapidated manner. They stood eerily rigid on four thin limbs, not even neighing or stepping in place like regular horses would. Cascilla looked around to see the majority of the older students simply walked by the creature, as if they themselves could not see them.

"You can see them as well, can't you?"

Cas nearly jumped out of her skin as a light voice chimed from behind her. She whirled around to find a girl standing behind her. The young girl with light blonde hair seemed to ignore Cas' bewildered look, choosing to respond with small smile. The girl's light gray eyes seemed to be looking through Cas' head, as if her mind was in a completely different place. She wore the standard Hogwarts girls' uniform with a tie that was striped blue and bronze, telling Cas she was a student.

"Um… hello." Cascilla was unsure of really what to say. She didn't even know if she was talking to her, but as she looked around quickly she saw that they were only ones so far at that carriage.

The girl immediately responded, "Hello." That was all she said, as if waiting for Cas' to say the first word.

Cas' was about to ask what she had been talking about earlier, but was swiftly interrupted.

"I have not seen for your face before. You are new." It wasn't question. It was a statement of confident knowledge.

To tell the truth, the platinum- haired girl sort of freaked her out, especially the way she simply stared at her with those wistful gray eyes.

"Uh… yeah. I am. Cascilla Rose. Most call me Cas." Not wanting to just stand there, she held out a hand for the girl to shake.

"Luna Lovegood." The girl, Luna, lightly took Cas' hand and shook it once before letting go. She then walked by Cas to stand before the decrepit-looking horses. Still with that faraway look she reached up a hand to pet its head. The head gave a sort straggly neigh but did not struggle against the gentle touch.

"They are called Threstrals. And I can see them too so don't worry, you're as sane as I am." Somehow… that didn't make Cas feel better.

"How come we can see them, but they," She waved her hand at the other children laughing and packing into the carriages, "can't."

Luna kept silence for a few moments before saying, "I'm not sure. I have been able to see them since my first year here at Hogwarts, but never bothered to do research on their mysterious existence." She turned her attention from the threstral to look at Cas. Her smile returned. "Isn't that silly of me?"

Cas was saved from responding as others arrived. None of which she recognized, she turned to look back at the girl but found she had disappeared without a trace. She looked around in bewilderment before agitatedly shaking it off and getting onto the carriage with the other newcomers. They stared at her confusedly because she still did not sport her uniform. She pointedly ignored them and instead chose to look out the window as they floated toward the castle gates.

**End of Chapter**

**AN**: I know. I'm a big fat liar. I didn't update as much as I said I would. But I have made it my New Year resolution to write and update more so look forward to that. Next story to be updated will be… Summoner's Sadness. Hopefully I'll be able to get that out sometime in February if I stick to my schedule so look out for that. I just realized that I havven't update thissince before my junior and I'm now in the second semester of my senior year. Wow. I suck. Ignore the AN at the top then, I'm just lazy.

I know it seems like it got nowhere but don't worry more will happen next chapter. A lot more.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hello again after so long. I'm really sorry, I've left you all so high and dry for so long. The worst part is: I don't really have an excuse so I won't make one. But I have good news, I'm going back very soon to writing more chapters for these stories. Believe it or not, I did have a basic skeleton for the plots of each of my stories, I just never got around to finishing them due to other responsibilities, and then became MORE of a videogame fiend and so did that whenever I had any free time (along with reading tons of fanfiction myself) so just didn't back into. I was also a little discouraged when a chapter that I had written 8 pages on was gone forever and couldn't work up the motivation to finish… But anyway! I hope to have a new chapter up for at least half of them before the summer is up, and during college… well let's see what happens. Having major in communication with a TRIPLE MINOR in English, art history, and theatre can make a girl PRETTY busy, but I'll see what I can do. Hopefully, you guys aren't TOO pissed with me and you can personally thank Beloved Daughter who wrote me a bit of good constructive criticism that caught me in a good move and motivated me FINALLY to restart up this hobby.

Anyway, besides this misleading AN, I also wanted to post something up for everyone to get involved in tomorrow. Here it is. Viva la resistance!

There is a scheme brewing up with the FF staff and they're planning to take down any and every story over the M rated section (stories with yaoi, yuri, het lemons, song based stories, extreme violence, etc) ...

So on June 23rd, there will be an official Black Out. Authors will not log in, read, or review stories. Those who do not have accounts are also affected by FF's decisions too. Please participate and spread the news! If enough authors take part in this event, FF will know we mean business. Also, if anybody has any information on when this purging on M-rated fics will be please contact me. I would like to know in advance.

SPREAD THE WORD!

copy and paste this into your story updates, communities and forums

thanks


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